Who Could Ask for Anything More
by Celtic Cat
Summary: Ninth in the Spike and Rose series. The senior partners have come up with a way, they hope, to find out just who or what Rose is. And a one and a two.
1. Sweet Dreams

8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Angel or Buffy, I just take them out to play from time to time.

Who Could Ask for Anything More?

Sweet Dreams

In another dimension, a high-level conference was taking place.

"It has been a number of years since she arrived," said the Ram. "And we still have no idea who or what Rose Powers is."

"In all this time she has not aged as much as a single day," the Hart remarked. "Nor were we ever able to determine how she and Spike were able to breed, unless it was entirely engineered by.., Them." The last word was said as though it left a foul taste in the creature's mouth.

The Wolf sniffed. "Let us not speak of the benighted Powers. Unless it was they also that orchestrated Rose and Spike's little dance of corporeality and non-corporeality." It paused in thought for a moment. "Does the word 'dance' suggest anything to you? As a way of finding out that which we wish to know?"

The Ram bared its teeth in what might have been a grin. "It does indeed." It looked to the Hart.

"Summon Sweet," it agreed. "Even if he fails to obtain the desired information, the ensuing chaos should be amusing."

"He will require a bride as part of his price," the Wolf reminded them. "Whom do we offer him? Our liaison?"

"No," the Ram replied. "Offer him the vampire girl."

&&&&&&

Mutiny.

"We're thirteen now," Ariel pointed out, pouting.

"We don't need a blo.., a babysitter," Alaric added, scowling, but still remembering to watch his language in front of his mother.

"When are you going to start treating us like adults?" Ariel's voice just missed being a whine.

"We'll start treating you like adults when you start bloody well acting like them," Spike snapped, losing his temper. That had been happening fairly frequently lately.

Rose sighed. She'd been doing a lot of that lately. Ever since the children had passed their thirteenth birthday, they seemed determined to question and argue with everything their parents said or did. Especially in regards to them. "It's not that we don't trust you," she said soothingly, and, surprisingly enough, for Rose, not entirely truthfully. "But it's for your protection."

"We're vampires, Mum," Alaric reminded her unnecessarily. Most of Rose's cooking was for herself again. Aside from the occasional snack, the twins were on a liquid diet now. "We're a lot stronger than humans, and a lot of demons."

"And we've been learning to fight since we were nine," Ariel chimed in. Angel had managed to piss off both parents with that one.

"We can kick anything or anyone's ass," Alaric bragged.

"Alaric, your language," Rose moaned futilely. It had been a losing battle from the beginning, but she still hadn't conceded defeat.

"That's exactly the kind of attitude that will get your ass kicked," Spike declared firmly. He had been going to try to stay out of things and let Rose handle it, she could usually make the twins see reason without losing her temper. But it obviously wasn't working this time. He had a sudden thought, and slipped off his jacket. "Okay, prove it."

"Prove what?" Alaric had a sinking feeling that his mouth was getting him into trouble.., again.

Rose was about to open her mouth to protest, but then decided that much as she disliked the idea, it might be the only way to get through to her increasingly wayward offspring. She resigned herself to losing some breakables though.

Spike gave his son an evil grin. "Prove that you can take care of yourself as well as you say you can. If you can kick my ass, then no babysitter."

"Just me?" Alaric asked, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice. "Or both of us?"

Spike considered. Adding his daughter to the equation gave him a disadvantage. She just looked so much like her mum. "All right, both of you," he conceded. "But not in here," he added as they began to move to flank him. "We're not trashing the place just to prove a point."

"The practice room takes forever to get to," Ariel protested. While she was starting to think that this particular showdown had been a bad idea, she knew that Daddy wouldn't really hurt them any more than Uncle Angel did when they were training. But still..,

"Plenty of room in the lobby," Spike conceded. "And it is a little closer than the practice room."

&&&&&&

"What happened to you two?" The first thing Angel noticed when the twins walked in his door was the bruises, of which both kids had an ample supply.

"Ask him," Ariel replied, going and snuggling into her uncle's arms. She was feeling in need of a little comfort right now. "It was his bright idea."

"You backed me up," Alaric said accusingly. He rubbed a sore shoulder. Those marble pillars were hard.

Ariel gave him a look and gave a little sniff. "All I can say is, I'd hate to go up against Daddy if he was trying to hurt us," she grumbled.

"Your father did this to you?" Angel was stunned. The kids had been being a pair of royal pains lately, true, but it was just a phase. And he knew that Spike loved his kids to distraction.

"He said if we could kick his ass we wouldn't have to have a babysitter," Alaric explained, wandering out into the kitchen. They might not eat as much solid food as they used to, but they were teenagers, with the requisite ungodly metabolisms. "I thought the two of us together ought to be able to do it."

Angel sighed as he and Ariel followed Alaric. "Your Dad has been fighting a whole lot longer than the two of you," he pointed out. "Did you really think you could take him?"

Alaric reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle which Angel immediately confiscated. "You're too young to be drinking beer," he scolded his godson. "And don't try to tell me that your parents allow you to, because I'm not buying that one."

"But when is everybody going to stop treating us like we're five years old?" Ariel groused. She elbowed her brother out of the way and peered into the refrigerator. "Don't you have any diet soda, Uncle Angel?"

"What do you need diet soda for?" Angel didn't understand that. Ariel was the image of Rose, who, to the best of his knowledge had never had to watch her figure, but had remained wand slim, even after the twins had been born. Not to mention which, a vampire's diet didn't generally lead to excess weight. He deliberately didn't answer his goddaughter's first question.

"Never mind," she sighed, pulling some root beer out of the fridge. "What are we doing tonight?"

"I got a couple of new dvds," Angel said. "And I've got popcorn too."

The twins rolled their eyes at each other. They really did not want to spend another night watching pg movies with their uncle, much as they loved him. Maybe if they could get Uncle Angel to start treating them like adults, their parents would follow suit.

"We've been feeling kind of cooped up lately," Alaric said cautiously. "Couldn't we go out to see a movie, Uncle Angel? After all, we're going to be starting to go to regular school soon, we ought to get used to being around other people." He silently congratulated himself on that particular ploy. Adults were always so much more malleable when they thought you were trying to improve yourself.

Angel considered. He had a feeling that he was being played, but he wasn't sure just what was on the kids' agenda yet. "I'll get the paper and see what's playing," he agreed.

&&&&&&

"You rang?" Sweet brushed a microscopic piece of lint off his shining lapel. The senior partners hadn't had to use the same spell most people did. The difference between their spell and the one that was usually used was the difference between being handed a live hand grenade just before it exploded and having time to throw it. Now he just had to find out where they were going to throw him, as it were.

"Our resources say that you are quite adept at gathering information," the Ram stated. After all, that was the main reason they had summoned the demon.

Sweet gave them a mocking half-bow. "It does seem to work out that way," he acknowledged modestly. "I must assume then, that you want some very specific information."

"We do," the Wolf replied. "But before we turn you loose, we thought it would be prudent to find out the parameters of your sphere of influence."

"I usually say, the more the merrier," Sweet answered. "But I can narrow down the field if you're looking for something particular. That is, if you're willing to meet my price."

"Your price will be met," the Hart assured him. "As for the place, could you confine your activities strictly to our L.A. law offices?"

"Just the one building?" Sweet was a little disappointed. He didn't get out too much, and liked to cause as much mayhem as he possibly could when he did. "You do realize that you'll probably lose a few employees."

"We consider the loss acceptable," the Wolf said as if the employees were of no moment. And indeed, in the eyes of the senior partners, a few employees more or less weren't.

"And my bride?" Even after all these years, missing out on the Slayer's sister still stung. Sweet was determined not to get burned that way again.

"Behold." The Ram made a gesture, and an illusion of a young girl appeared.

"She's a little young," Sweet murmured. A luscious looking tidbit for all that, though. "Luckily, I happen to like them young." He thought a moment. "She'll need the amulet."

The Hart nodded. "It is being attended to, even as we speak." The senior partners had set that part of the plan in motion even before summoning the demon. If he had proved unwilling, it would cause no harm, not that they particularly cared about that.

"You do realize that I can't promise that the information you want will come out," Sweet warned. He'd heard of the senior partners and their methods, who hadn't? And he thought it prudent to warn them before they decided to take out any possible hard feelings on them. "I just light the fuse. I can't guarantee when the bomb will explode." He gave a little laugh at his simile.

"Concentrate your efforts on the senior staff," the Ram directed. The senior partners had agreed that Angel's little inner circle were almost all certainly privy to the information they sought.

"Sounds like it's a deal then," Sweet conceded.

&&&&&&

"Loosen up a bit, babe," Spike wheedled. Rose had never been so distracted when they were on the dance floor before, and it was taking a little of the shine out of his evening. "I was very careful not to hurt them other than a few bumps and bruises. They've done worse to themselves." He planted a kiss on top of her head. "Part of the reason for our nights out is to give us a break from the little demons. It doesn't work if you spend the whole time thinking about them."

Rose looked up at her husband and smiled. He was so handsome that he took her breath away, even though they'd been together for years. "Actually, I was worrying about Angel," she admitted. "He's.., he's not very firm with them."

"You mean he spoils them rotten," Spike corrected her. "His problem. You haven't heard him say he wants off the babysitting roster yet, have you?" He nuzzled at her ear. "Don't we have better things to do than to discuss how my poncey grandsire handles the kids?"

"I'm sorry, darling." Rose snuggled into him. "They've just become so.., willful lately. They've got to know that we're doing what we think is best for them. All they have to do is look in our minds."

"I don't think they do that too much anymore," Spike replied thoughtfully as he led her back to thier table. If Rose was going to insist on discussing the kids, and she obviously was, then they might as well be comfortable. "Anymore, I think all they do is give new people a quick once over and leave it at that."

"I just wish I knew what I was doing wrong." Rose knew that remark would probably prompt Spike to scold her, but she just couldn't help but feel that the change in the children's demeanor was her fault.

But Spike didn't scold. Instead, he took one of Rose's hands in his and looked into her eyes. "You're not doing anything wrong, pet," he said softly. "You're an absolutely wonderful mum, just like I said you'd be." Serious as he was, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He was so proud of her that sometimes he could hardly stand it. "It's just a phase, luv, that's all. Most teenagers go through it."

"Really?" Rose looked immensely relieved. "But how do we deal with it? You can't keep beating them up."

"We just go on live we've been doing," Spike replied firmly. "We set the limits and make them stick to them whether they like it or not." She still looked way too serious for his tastes though. This one night out a month had become even more necessary to his mental health since the twins had entered this particular phase. "Cheer up, babe. It won't last forever."

"As precocious as those two are, I'm surprised they didn't got through this phase when they were five," Rose remarked with a half smile. No matter what was troubling her, Spike always made her feel better.

Spike grinned back, glad to see her perking up. Maybe the evening out wouldn't be a total loss after all. "This one didn't hit early because you can't rush puberty, sweetheart." He pulled his chair away from the table. "You ready to dance some more?"

&&&&&

"Out of the question," Angel said as firmly as he could manage. "That film has an R rating."

"But we're very grown-up for our age," Ariel pointed out. "Everyone says so."

"What's in there that we haven't already been exposed to?" Alaric inquired. "Violence? We do live at Wolfram and Hart, so that's old news to us. "Bad language?" He gave his uncle a look that said volumes. Anything Spike hadn't said out loud, they'd long since picked out of his mind. "And as for sex..,"

"I really don't want to know how much you know about sex," Angel interrupted. He knew that they'd telepathically listened in on their parents love-making when they were small. He doubted that there was much they didn't know about the subject. Which didn't mean that he wanted to have his suspicions confirmed.

"Then we can go?" Ariel asked hopefully, giving Angel eyes for all she was worth. Uncle Angel always caved after a dose of eyes.

"No," Angel repeated. "If it's higher than PG-13, forget it. Now either pick something suitable or we'll just turn around and go back home."

'Is he kidding?' The twins might not read other people's minds as much as they used to, but they were usually in telepathic rapport with each other.

'I don't think so.' That was Alaric. 'When Uncle Angel says no, it usually means no.'

'Maybe we could give Uncle Angel the slip and go by ourselves.' Ariel was actually rather proud of the idea.

'That wouldn't be that hard,' Alaric conceded grudgingly. 'But what would be the first thing Uncle Angel would do when he couldn't find us?'

'Look for us?' Ariel suggested, but even in mind-talk, there was a feel that she didn't really believe it.

'How about calling Mum and Dad?' Alaric asked. 'Do you want to have to face Dad after we've interrupted his night out with Mum?'

Ariel gave a mental shudder at the thought. 'PG-13?'

&&&&&&

Sweet considered as to just where he should set up shop. Near to the action, that went without saying. Out of the way, but accessible for that seemingly inevitable final confrontation.

He thought of the roof of the law firm, but only briefly. Hell of a view, and being in southern California meant that the weather wasn't much of a factor. But he decided against it. Too far away from the fun. He wanted to see it and hear it so well that he could do the dances and whistle the tunes.

He finally found himself an empty office somewhere in the middle of the building. Despite the fact that it was as scrupulously clean as the rest of the place, Sweet had a distinct feeling that this particular office hadn't been used in quite a while.

"Could use a few homey touches," Sweet mused aloud. "Definitely a bit on the utilitarian side." He gave a short laugh. "But I guess it will have to do." His eyes suddenly gleamed with mischief.

"It's show time."

&&&&&&

Ariel was finding sleep to be elusive tonight. For some reason her mind just kept focusing on one thing and wouldn't veer away from it for anything. She couldn't even work it out by discussing it with her brother. It had been niggling at her for weeks now, and maybe a bit more than a simple little niggle, but the one time she had mentioned it to Alaric, his reaction had been such that she had backed away from the subject with a hasty fib that she had just been joking. Alaric had been sufficiently disturbed that he hadn't looked into her mind to any further on the topic.

Ariel though, was in love, or an unreasonable facsimile thereof, and she wasn't sure if it was merely that she was in love that bothered her twin, or the object of her affections.

With a sigh she snuggled down under the covers and thought about him. The way he looked, the sound of his voice, his scent, how good it felt to be held in those strong arms of his and how safe she felt with him. True, she wasn't sure the feelings were reciprocated, yet. In fact, she was still pretty certain that he still thought of her as a kid. But that would change. Soon, he would see that she was a woman and respond to her as such.

One last sigh, then Ariel cuddled up to her pillow, calling up the image of him in her mind's eye and willing herself to dream sweet dreams about him.

About Angel.


	2. Don't Answer That

16

Don't Answer That

The messenger carefully watched the elevator that came from the senior partner's suite. He'd been given very explicit instructions about this. Finally, the doors of the elevator opened and Spike and Rose emerged. Once they were out of sight, he entered.

&&&&&

Alaric was very determinedly not doing anything. If he was going to have to start school soon, he was going to get as much loafing time in as possible beforehand. So when the doorbell unexpectedly rang, he made no move other than a nervous start. "Why don't you get that, Ariel?" he suggested lazily. "Since you're already up."

Ariel impatiently thrust the mug of blood at him, something else he'd requested 'since she was already up'. Of course she was already up, he didn't give her time to sit down. Her irritation dissipated, however, upon hearing a furious sputter.

"Hey, this stuff's stone cold," Alaric protested.

"You just asked for blood." Ariel's voice dripped honey. "You didn't say you wanted it warm." With a self-satisfied smile, she answered the door.

To see a complete stranger. A quick, surface scan though confirmed that appearances were not, in this case, deceiving. He was just here to deliver something.

"I have a delivery for Miss Ariel Powers," he informed her. He was a little surprised at the mode of address. Nowadays it might sometimes be Mrs. although more often than not it was Ms. Miss had almost faded into obscurity.

"I'm Ariel Powers," she answered, surprised. Everyone she really knew either lived or worked in this building. So who would be sending her something? Especially since it wasn't her birthday, and besides, if it was there would almost certainly be something for her twin as well.

"Please sign here." Since Ariel had no experience with these things, and her perfunctory mind scan had shown nothing amiss, she acceded to the request, not really wondering why only the line where she was to sign was visible. A different sheet of paper covered the rest of the document.

After Ariel had dutifully put her flourishing signature on the proffered page, she accepted the small box the man held out to her. Once she had it in her hands, he went back down the elevator with a certain amount of alacrity.

"Whatcha got?" Alaric was curious, but not curious enough to lever himself up off the sofa.

For the first time in her life, Ariel wished she could shut her brother out of her thoughts. And that time was when she opened the box and saw not only the pretty pendant, but a hastily scrawled note that said, 'wear it always', and signed with a capital A.

&&&&&

The messenger who had delivered the package to Ariel did not head back to some package laden truck as that breed are wont to do, but instead made his way to an office in the middle of the building.

"Well?" Sweet demanded.

"If she did look in my mind," the deliveryman reported. "Then she didn't seem to see anything she didn't like. All I had to do was to think about nothing but making the delivery."

"Have you got it?" the demon pursued impatiently of the senior partner's hireling.

The man handed the clipboard to Sweet and the demon carefully removed the paper from it and after a quick glance, folded in neatly and tucked it carefully into his jacket pocket.

The paper Ariel had signed without seeing, let alone reading. The paper that said she agreed to become Sweet's bride.

"Well, it looks like the senior partners are holding up their end of the agreement," he reflected. "Now it's time for me to hold up mine. Time to make some music."

&&&&&&

The steno pool was the site of a major production number.

Click, click, click all the keyboards sing

Work day and night and it doesn't mean a thing

Torts and lawsuits and contracts drear

Everything in this place comes through here

Some of the secretaries danced on the desktops, others wove in and out amongst those desks. The scene could have come straight out of a Broadway musical.

Sweet was on the clock.

&&&&&&

The familiar sound of staff against staff.

"Is it just me, or do the people in this place seem a little more.., oh, I don't know, cheerful today?" Angel asked.

"Everybody seems cheerful compared to a gloomy bugger like you," Spike answered, without missing a beat. "Unless they're doing musical production numbers in the offices, I wouldn't worry about it."

"No," Angel replied thoughtfully. "A lot of humming and whistling, though." He got a puzzled look on his face. "Supposing it were to happen, why would doing musical production numbers be a bad thing? Aside from not getting any work done."

Spike sighed and lowered his staff, keeping an eye on Angel just in case he decided to take advantage of it. "Might as well hang this up for the day," he remarked. "This could take a while."

Angel put up his staff, keeping his eye on Spike. "Surely singing and dancing can't be that destructive." There was a hesitant note in his voice, however. "Can it?"

Spike shook his head. "How about destructive enough to kill a few people and nearly do in the Slayer?" He turned and headed toward his office with a confused Angel trailing in his wake.

&&&&&&

Ariel had dashed into her room and locked the door before Alaric got curious enough to haul his butt up off the sofa to see what she'd gotten. The pendant was now around her neck, tucked under her clothes. The note was in between the pages of her locked diary. Then, Ariel sat down on her bed in a lotus, closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of extraneous thoughts. She was about to attempt something she'd never even contemplated before. Locking her twin out of her mind. Not entirely, mind you. One time their telepathy had been turned off by a drug, and the separation had been acutely painful for both of them. No, she wasn't trying to shut her brother out completely. Just the one small part of her mind that had to do with her feelings for Angel and the gift she'd assumed came from him.

She had just finished when an insistent hammering sounded on her door.

"What in bleeding hell are you doing in there?" Alaric demanded. "Open the damned door before I break it down." He raised his fist to pound again when it opened to reveal his sister, standing there calm and serene.

"Mummy will skin you and salt you if she hears you cussing like that," Ariel observed. She shoved past him and headed for the kitchen, suddenly ravenous.

Alaric followed along behind her like a puppy dog. "You still didn't say what you were up to," he said accusingly. "I couldn't even hear you thinking." He might have staked himself before he admitted it to anyone else, but that had scared him, and scared him badly.

"I was meditating," Ariel lied smoothly, pouring herself a cup of blood and slipping it into the microwave. "I guess I just had my mind so free of thought that you couldn't hear any of it." A quick probe showed that her twin really was distressed though, and Ariel relented immediately. "I'm sorry, 'Ric."

Alaric heaved a mental sigh. There seemed to be a little something that he couldn't quite put his finger on that was a little off, but it was so small that he decided to let it slide. For the most part, his twin was as she usually was, and that was good enough for him. "S'okay, Viv," he muttered. "Just gave me a bit of a turn is all." Despite the fact that most of the people of his acquaintance wouldn't put it past him, Alaric would never even dream of lying to Ariel. And it certainly never occurred to him that she would, or could, lie to him.

Ariel started to bring the now warm cup to her lips, then stopped, smiled and offered it to her brother.

&&&&&

Lindsey looked up from his desk to see Angel enter his office and frowned. He may work for the vampire now, but he still didn't like him and probably never would. But he was keenly aware that he was on perpetual probation, and that if he stepped out of line just the tiniest little bit he could certainly forget about all the perks and privileges he currently enjoyed. The money, the prestige, breathing. But it still rankled that Angel had what should by rights be his job while he wasn't even admitted into the inner circle, even after nearly six years. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he inquired in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Angel took a seat without waiting to be asked, knowing that Lindsey wouldn't make the offer. "Ever heard of a demon named Sweet?" he asked without preamble.

Lindsey laughed. "I've heard some good ones," he commented. "But I've never heard of a demon with a pansy-assed name like that. Why don't you ask your crack research team?" Curious now, he thought he might ask himself, then thought better of it. Wesley, like most of the rest of the crew, still hated his guts. And Lindsey had a marked tendency to tread lightly around Rose.

"Because I'm asking you," Angel said flatly, his dark eyes seeming to bore right into the Texan.

"Hey, I'm being a good boy," Lindsey protested, seeing where this discussion might be headed. "Besides, between the surveillance and the spells you have on me, when would I be able to summon a demon without you hearing about it?"

Angel sighed. He wasn't even sure if anything was wrong, but Spike's story had creeped him out. And if there was a villain in the place, he was more than happy to assign that particular role to Lindsey. "When was the last time you sang for Lorne?" he queried.

"Yesterday," Lindsey snapped. He shoved his phone across the desk. "Why don't you go ahead and call him to verify it, since I know you wouldn't take my word for the time of day."

Angel waved aside the offer. "I've got an appointment with Lorne myself," he responded. "I'll just ask him then."

"You do that," Lindsey said a little sulkily. He suddenly and quite incongruously laughed. "You never do stop being a pain in my ass."

"Everyone needs a hobby," Angel replied as he headed out the door.

&&&&&&

Despite the fact that he had no solid grounds for his fears, Angel had called a staff meeting. Maybe someone else had caught something he hadn't. Or maybe a total lack of negative reports would soothe his jitters.

Spike, surprisingly, said nothing. But then, he didn't have to. His expression spoke volumes, the gist of which was that he was full of shit.

"Maybe it's just because it's summer," Rose remarked. "A lot of people are off on vacation."

"And having less people around would almost certainly lighten up on the tension-o-meter," Lorne added. "Not that I'd be the one to notice. I hear people singing every day."

"Yeah, but they don't start dancing too, do they?" Angel asked.

"Some of them," Lorne admitted. Then, he answered the question that the puzzled expressions all around him were asking. "The wannabes. The ones that think they have talent and want me to put in a good word for them with the moguls that be. And there's only three people in the place with that kind of talent. Two of whom are in this room."

Spike's self-satisfied smirk said loud and clear that he knew who those two were.

Gunn shook his head, but otherwise ignored Spike. "I've heard a lot more whistling than usual," he admitted. "But I haven't seen people dancing in the hallways."

"I did hear someone singing in their office this morning," Wesley said quietly. Then, a grin spread across his features. "But that's not particularly unusual for Rose."

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Much as I hate to say it, Angel," Fred remarked. "Maybe you're just jumping at shadows this time."

"I guess maybe I was," Angel conceded ruefully. His gut feeling though, said that something was still wrong. "Does anyone else have anything they'd like to bring up?"

It was silent for a moment, then, seeing no one else had any urgent concerns, Rose spoke.

"I know it's not business related," she began a little diffidently. "But I thought everyone might like to know that I got a letter from Harmony."

"I never was clear on what she and Val were planning to do," Gunn confessed.

"A vampire half-way house," Spike said derisively.

"It's to help those vampires who wish to integrate themselves into society," Wes elaborated.

"Have they actually gotten anyone interested yet?" Fred asked curiously. She and Angel had, under the guise of charitable deductions, given Val and Harmony a few supplies to help get them started. Including a blood tester, just to keep everyone honest.

"They've had several inquiries," Rose replied. "But I'm afraid they've only had two vampires actually stay and try to stick to it so far."

"That's two more than I ever thought there'd be," Angel commented. "So maybe they'll make a go of it after all."

"Maybe we ought to send the kids to lend them a hand for a while," Spike suggested. Rose, sitting next to him didn't see the mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"But they're not even regular vampires," Rose protested, perplexed. "And besides..," Suddenly what Spike was getting at filtered through. "William, that is not even remotely funny."

There were a few ill-repressed snickers around the room. They'd all had a dose of the twins' new rebellious personae.

"Well, it looks like there's nothing left that needs to be discussed," Angel remarked. "But if anyone sees anything in the least bit suspicious, tell me immediately."

&&&&&

Rose found herself actually dragging her feet as she headed home from work. She felt incomplete, taking the long elevator ride without Spike, but that wasn't the real reason she felt a certain reluctance to go through the door. She remembered when this used to the highlight of her day, getting home and having the children swarm over her. But now..,

"Hello, Mummy." Ariel met her at the door and took her briefcase and put it in its place on the shelf, now more custom than necessity. "Where's Daddy?"

"He had to go out," Rose replied, kicking off her shoes. "Some emergency demon hunt. He didn't really have time to give me too many details."

"Cool," said Alaric, coming from, where else? the kitchen. "Wish I could've gone along."

"Not only are you too young," Rose began wearily, this was far from the first time her son had expressed a desire to go demon-hunting. "You are not an employee of this company either. And it most certainly is not 'cool'. It's very dangerous. People could get hurt or killed." Rose had a brief mental image, and her lip quivered slightly.

"Way to go, Brainiac," Ariel scolded. "Now you've gone and gotten Mummy upset."

"I'm sorry, Mum." Alaric came over to Rose and gave her a quick hug, as though he was afraid of being caught showing such sentiment towards one of his parents. "Dad will come back all right. He always does."

Rose started feeling a warm glow from her children's attentions to her, and their tender care for her feelings. Then, the glow was abruptly doused by cold reality, and even though she nearly hated herself for her suspicions of her precious children, Rose wondered just what the twins were up to, or what they wanted that they were being so nice to her all of a sudden.

Rose tried to tell herself that it was awful to think such things of her beloved children. To be truthful, she didn't know much about teenagers (other than what she was acquiring as on the job training), but she didn't think the condition absolutely precluded showing affection for one's parents.

Before Rose could follow this train of thought further, or pursue another, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," the twins declared simultaneously.

Rose's suspicions immediately leaped back to the fore. "I'll get it," she said so firmly that neither twin dared argue. Rose seldom used that tone of voice, but when she did, nobody argued with her.

Rose answered the door to see one of the maintenance crew standing there with a tool box and a tape measure. "What can I do for you..," She paused and squinted at the man's name tag. "Harry?"

"I know it's getting late, Ms. Powers," Harry apologized. "I'll be as quick as I can. But I have to get a measurement before I get the new glass to install."

"What new glass?" Rose asked weakly. No wonder the twins had been buttering her up. If Spike had been there, he would have told her that she should trust her instincts.

"The balcony door," Harry explained, a little perplexed. "You weren't the one that sent for me, ma'am?"

"No, I wasn't," Rose replied. "I just got home. But I think I can make a few educated guesses." She looked more closely at the balcony door and realized that it was indeed glassless. "Well, I guess I'll let you get on with it then, Harry."

While this exchange had been going on, the twins had been trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, trying to blend into the background. This extremely atypical behavior merely served to draw attention to them. They started inching out of the room.

"Stop right there," Rose ordered, and for once, was given instant obedience. "On second thought, I think you ought to go to your rooms. Because I really don't want to know who did what to whom or how it happened All I really need to know is that the two of you are responsible for that broken glass."

"We cleaned up the broken stuff," Ariel muttered, looking at her feet. She didn't really have a lot of hope that that would cut them any slack.

"Are we grounded then?" Alaric asked. He wasn't going to try to dig his way out. They were in trouble and there was no getting out of it. Might as well just find out the worst.

"That remains to be seen," Rose answered severely. "For an infraction of this magnitude I think that I won't hand down any punishment until I've had a chance to talk it over with your father."

The twins exchanged hopeless glances. One reason that they had tried to get everything straightened away before their parents arrived was the knowledge of how their father would react. They unanimously decided to go to their rooms as Rose had said. While they were there, they decided to spend some time sitting down. They didn't think they'd be doing a lot of that after Daddy found out what had happened.

"I will mention the fact that you cleaned up to your father," Rose said to the retreating figures. "Maybe he might even count sitting in your rooms waiting as 'time served'."

'Mum's getting a real mean streak in her.' Luckily for the twins, being separated physically didn't mean that they couldn't carry on a conversation.

'Do you think it's us?' Ariel would like to believe that the flaws were all on her parents side, but there was something about being a telepath that tended to promote a certain amount of honesty. No matter how painful it was.

'I think,' Alaric remarked. 'That Dad is going to royally kick our asses.'

'Maybe Mummy can talk him out of the worst of it?' Ariel thought back hopefully.

'I'm the blond one, not you.' Alaric paused and waited to see if his sister would pick up on it. When she didn't, he deigned to explain. 'She didn't yell, she didn't cry, she didn't get anything. Just stayed ice-cold calm.'

'Oh shit.' At one time, Ariel, the good little girl would never have thought of swearing, and she still didn't do it very often. 'Do you think this might be a good time to run away from home?'

'I think it's too late,' Alaric replied. 'Dad just walked in the door and Harry's still here.'


	3. The Opening Bars

24

The Opening Bars

"Any plans for the weekend, Lorne?" asked Gunn as they left the office.

"As a matter of fact," the Pylean replied, standing a little straighter. "I have a date."

"Good for you, Lorne." Gunn smiled, genuinely pleased. He thought his gentle demon friend deserved a shot at happiness. "Is it anyone I know?"

"Corinna." Lorne seemed a little defensive. When Corinna had first come to the law firm, she and Angel had had an on again, off again relationship for two or three years. After the final break up, she had drifted from partner to partner, seemingly seeking something she wasn't finding.

"You could do worse," Gunn acknowledged. "And if you can get past the fact that she's a part-time spider, she's a damn fine looking woman."

"As long as I don't delude myself that the Corinna stops here," Lorne sighed.

"Stranger things have happened," Gunn said. "After all, this is Wolfram and Hart."

&&&&&&

Spike was congratulating himself on not being home too late despite the call of duty. He opened the door to see Rose speaking to one of the maintenance staff who, after retracting his tape measure, was jotting down some figures. Right in front of the empty frame where their balcony door should be. Of the kids there was no sign.

"How in the hell did they manage that?" The question was purely rhetorical. Spike didn't really want to know how they had done it, and he had no doubts whatsoever that the twins were responsible.

Rose turned eagerly to greet him. "Hello, darling. I.., ow!" At the last syllable, Rose sucked in a pained breath and cradled one foot in her hands. A crimson rivulet trickled down the sole of her foot.

Spike sighed. "Babe, didn't anyone ever tell you not to walk barefooted where there's broken glass?" Heedless of the presence of Harry, he swept Rose up off her foot and carried her into the bathroom and sat her on the counter.

"I'm not quite that naive, love," Rose replied reproachfully. "But Ariel told me that they'd cleaned up the broken glass."

"And of course the kids always do such a wizard clean-up that you didn't think there'd be anything left behind, did you, pet?" Spike tossed the sliver of glass he'd extracted from her foot into the trash. And then, because she sat there just looking so guilty, he kissed her. "Silly, little nit," he murmured fondly. "You can't take everything they say at face value, no matter how much you love them."

"The way I do with you?" Rose asked innocently.

"Well, that's different, innit?" Spike muttered, carrying on with tending to her wound. "This is going to sting a bit, luv."

The warning wasn't quite enough. When the mercurochrome hit the open cut, Rose let out a loud yelp.

The twins, despite having been confined to their rooms were there on the instant.

"Is Mum okay?" "What happened to Mummy?" burst out of the pair of them in a nearly unintelligible jumble.

Rose was actually starting to feel bad about having been so angry with the children at all. Even more so now that they were showing such genuine concern for her.

"She'll be fine, no thanks to you two," Spike snapped. He loved his kids dearly, but Rose was still the center of his existence, and they wouldn't have had to be concerned about their mother if they hadn't screwed up in the first place.

Rose almost cringed at the harshness of Spike's tones, especially knowing that it was his love for her that caused it. But they had long ago agreed to present a united front to the twins' faces and discuss any differences of opinion later, in private. Or at least as private as they could get. Maybe she could distract him and turn his wrath aside a little. Then, she became distracted.

"Spike, darling, what happened to your hand?" Rose was aghast that she hadn't noticed it before.

Spike glanced at the back of his hand and saw distinct signs of charring. He hadn't noticed when it happened either, his full attention having been on Rose. "Must've got a bit of sun on me when I picked you up, babe," he replied. He looked at his offspring severely, but said nothing.

"Gee, Dad, we didn't mean to," Alaric stammered, horrified.

"We wouldn't deliberately hurt you and Mummy," Ariel squeaked, near tears.

"You guys may have been royal pains lately," Alaric added, neatly side-stepping his sister's elbow. "But we still love you." The last three words were so low as to be barely audible.

"Back to your rooms," Spike ordered. He sounded stern enough, but after Alaric and Ariel had filed out of the room, he'd come up for a hug with a half-smile.

"Oh, Spike." Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. "They're really not that bad, are they?"

"Of course they're not." Spike bent back down to finish with the first aid. "After all, you're their mum, luv."

&&&&&&

"I've heard your name mentioned around the firm already," was how Eve reacted to her first meeting with Sweet.

Sweet laughed, albeit a little uncomfortably. "I haven't even really turned up the heat yet," he protested. "And though it pains me to admit it, I'm not exactly a household word."

"Depends on the household," Eve observed. "My information is that you met one of our current employees when you visited Sunnydale."

Sweet sighed. He didn't like being reminded of Sunnydale. "Who?"

"Does a bleached-blond vampire named Spike ring any bells?" Eve queried.

"Like Notre Dame on Sunday morning," Sweet replied. "He was the hardest one to affect there. Not to mention that he was the cool voice of reason that kept the Slayer from igniting."

Eve stifled a giggle at the thought of Spike ever being the 'cool voice of reason'. "Not to rain on your parade," she said apologetically. "But he's married to the reason you're here."

Sweet was suddenly wearing a very malicious smile. "You ever seen a vampire spontaneously combust?"

&&&&&

"Hey, princess." Lindsey greeted Ariel as she walked into his office. "What brings you to corporate America?"

"The mail," Ariel replied grumpily, dropping a stack of correspondence on his desk. "'Ric and I have to do this stupid job for a whole week."

Lindsey shook his head and fought off a grin. "Child labor, could be grounds for a lawsuit," he suggested, not really meaning it, just showing Ariel that he was on her side.

Ariel managed a smile. Despite the fact that most of her extended family tended to treat him like a disease, she liked Lindsey. And it was sweet of him to try to cheer her up. "It's all right, Lindsey," she answered. "But we have to do this to pay for replacing the glass in the balcony door."

Lindsey winced. It would probably take everything the kids earned this week plus dig into any savings they might have. The necro-glass was expensive. "You broke it, you bought it?" he guessed.

Ariel nodded. "Actually this is the easy part," she admitted. "After Mummy cut her foot on a piece of glass, Daddy made us go over the whole living room with a fine-toothed comb. Literally."

"Sounds like fun," Lindsey remarked, handing her his outgoing mail.

It was Ariel's turn to wince. "Not when Mummy found out how many spiders live in the carpet. Daddy had to send her to Uncle Angel's and call an exterminator." She glanced at the time. "I'd better get going, I guess."

"Wait, don't go," Lindsey sang. He shook his head as if trying to clear it, but the compulsion was too strong to fight.

"You're young, I know

Scarcely more than a child

And yet now for years

You've driven me wild

I'd happily worship the ground under your dainty feet

If you would just give me a sign that you will wait for me."

"I'll always have a soft spot for you." Ariel's voice was a clear, ringing soprano. "Always a friend. Someone upon whom to depend."

"But I want more." Lindsey's voice nearly cracked. Not from the pitch, but from emotion.

"I've waited years for you to grow up

And I can't bear to see you slip away

Now that you're nearly a woman."

"I don't want to hurt you," Ariel sang softly. "But I love someone else." Her eyes got dreamy.

"He's tall and he's strong and he's handsome.

He's kind and he's gentle as well.

He's smart and he's funny, the light of my life..,"

Ariel had whirled around, and when she came face to face with Lindsey's glare, she faltered.

"It's him, isn't it?" Who knew that someone could snarl and sing at the same time? "He got my job, he got my life, but not you too, I couldn't bear it." Lindsey turned to stare sightlessly out the window.

Ariel came up behind him, but just as she was opening her mouth to sing, the compulsion dissipated.

Lindsey turned and looked into Ariel's eyes for a moment, then buried his face in his hands while Ariel fled, blushing furiously.

&&&&&&

In the research department, Wesley sang, "Books and spells and talismans, demons by the score..,"

In the science lab, Fred heard one of her lab techs chanting, "Feed the virus and watch it grow..,"

In the practice room, as Spike toppled Angel on his back, Angel began.., singing, for lack of a better word. "Today you win, tomorrow I will, in the end does it even matter who wins?"

"Oh, bleeding hell," Spike muttered. Looked like the ponce wasn't as paranoid as he'd thought. And as Angel kept warbling, he felt a growing urge to join in. Had to nip that in the bud. He put his right hand against the wall and slammed the butt end of his staff into it, barely biting back the cry of pain. He didn't really want to do too much vocalizing right now, make it too easy for the demon to get hold of him again. But it seemed to have worked. He wondered if using pain as a distraction would work once someone had already got caught in the spell. Only one way to find out.

Angel, still singing, was pulling himself to his feet when Spike's staff caught him across the back of the skull.

&&&&&

There was already a small crowd outside of Angel's office when Spike half-dragged his grandsire back. Well, a crowd consisting of the home team, as it were.

"Did you have to hit me so hard?" Angel grumbled, gingerly rubbing the rising lump on the back of his head.

"Had to stop you singing, didn't I?" Spike asked innocently. He didn't bother to tell the pouf that he hadn't been any more gentle with himself. His hand still throbbed.

"I'm sure there's many a person that's considered it after hearing you sing, big guy," Lorne tried to joke. But everyone was so tense and serious that it totally failed to lighten the mood.

Angel led the way into his office. "I take it this means that everybody has started singing?"

"Pretty much," Wesley replied. "I must have heard half a dozen people just coming here from research.

"The lab people were forming up a conga line," Fred said. "If I hadn't managed to leave when I did, I'd have joined them."

"So, we know what the problem is, and even who's causing it," Gunn remarked. "The question is, how do we stop it?"

Everybody turned to look at Spike.

"Hey, I've already told everything I know," Spike protested. He thought a moment, and then spoke, but it was more like thinking out loud. "I don't think it was because he didn't get to see the Slayer combust, I think that was just a bit of fun for him. Seemed a little bit irked that the Bit had his amulet but hadn't cast the summoning spell. Something about taking her back to marry him." He roused himself from his reverie. "See? No new info."

"Have you been able to find anything in research, Wes?" Angel asked.

Wesley shook his head. "It took me all morning just to discover that all the files on Sweet, files that I wouldn't have thought were all that sensitive compared to some that are in there, have suddenly become highly classified. We can check, but I'm not sure even your access codes will be enough."

"Who would be able to classify stuff like that, that quickly?" Fred asked, looking very serious.

"I smell a rat," said Gunn.

"More like a Wolf, a Ram and a Hart," Angel muttered. "They're the ones with the power to make things like that happen around here. But why this?"

"Darling, didn't you say that people tended to sing about things that they normally wouldn't talk about?" Rose asked Spike. "The things they kept closest to their hearts?"

Spike nodded. "Like Buffy telling them that they resurrected her from heaven instead of hell. Matter of fact, I think that the whole reason that that towering fount of wisdom, Xander cast the spell was tryin' to find out if him and Anya could make a go of it. Stupid git."

"So that gives us the senior partners going on a fishing expedition trying to find out someone's secret," Wesley mused.

"And whose big secret have they been trying to find out for years?" Fred asked, looking pointedly at Rose.

As Rose sat there looking dumfounded, Gunn added, "That's almost got to be it. The senior partners have been trying to find out who or was Rose is ever since she was pregnant with the twins."

"Probably before that," Angel put in. "Like when she swapped spook status with Spike and then came back human. And when I was..," He looked away from his friends, it was a painful subject. "..,When I was Angelus, one of the first things they did was to send Eve to me, trying to find out what I knew about Rose."

"Think it would help if we sent Rose away?" Spike suggested. He didn't like the thought of having Rose away from him, but he liked the thought of the senior partners knowing about her origins even less.

"We'd all have to go away, Spike," Lorne pointed out. "After all, everyone in this room, plus the kids knows about Rose. And maybe Corinna, too. And I wouldn't put money against Lindsey taking a few educated guesses."

"Not to mention which there are other places they could find the information even if we found a way to shield ourselves against the spell," Wesley added. "There's Oz, teaching at U.C.L.A., and Harmony and Val with their half-way house."

"And Red and Rupes in merry olde England," Spike finished. "With that many people knowing about it, I'm surprised the partners haven't found out already."

"More to the point, would it really hurt to let them know?" Angel murmured. "When I was.., when I threatened Rose with exposure, she said go ahead and tell them. Piss-poor blackmail subject." He smiled at Rose.

"But Angel, I was just bluffing," Rose protested. "I honestly don't think that the senior partners should have that knowledge. Even if they didn't try to use it against me, I'm afraid that they might decide to try to do something to my babies."

"You bluffed Angelus?" Spike asked incredulously, a grin spreading across his face. It was known to one and all that Rose was about the worst liar around, and Angelus, evil bastard that he was, was nobody's fool. Bloody amazin' woman.

"Well, I'll be damned," Angel said softly. He wouldn't have believed that Rose could bluff Angelus either. "Okay, we're agreed that we have to find a way to stop this, and make sure that it can't happen again. But as Gunn said, the question is, how?"

"The partners may have classified the information as far as the firm goes," Wesley said. "But Wolfram and Hart's resources aren't the only ones available to us. I think I'll just put in a little call to the council and see what they can give me. Even if they no longer have the records, they have access to people that were there. I'm sure that some other perspectives could add something to what Spike gave us."

"It's a little thin," Angel replied. "But unfortunately, it seems to be the best we have. Fred, what about the lab? Do you think there might be some way or another you could immunize us against these attacks? As has been noted, way too many of us know about Rose. And all it would take would be one of us to burst into song about it."

"I'll give it a shot," Fred promised. She didn't sound too hopeful, though.

"The rest of you, turn over some rocks and see what you can turn up. Maybe we can locate where the demon is," Angel directed.

"And we need to find out who's wearing that bloody amulet," Spike added. "I know that's part of his price. A bride."

"Well, let's all get on it, kiddies," Lorne urged, rising to his feet. It may have said something about his devotion to Rose that he hadn't made any moves toward the bar other than a few longing gazes.

"Lorne," Angel said before the empath hit the door. "Any time you hear anyone singing, try to see if you can get a reading. There may be some sort of key to the spell there."

"I'll do my level best," Lorne promised. Then he, and everyone else, made their exit.

&&&&&&

Eve was sitting on the edge of the desk, feet gently swinging. "We haven't heard anything about Rose yet," she pointed out. "As a matter of fact, you haven't gotten a note out of either Rose or Spike."

"A little patience if you please," Sweet replied smoothly. "The deeper the secret, the longer it takes to bring it to the surface. Sometimes it only comes out just before the end, if then. Besides..," He shrugged helplessly. "It's not an exact science."

"You were going to show me a vampire spontaneously combusting," Eve reminded him, pouting prettily. "I don't even really care which one it is."

"You did hear Angel sing, didn't you?" Sweet asked, wincing. He wasn't sure if Spike had hit him over the head to stop him singing or.., to stop him singing.

"No pain, no gain," Eve replied flippantly. She looked back at the crystal ball. Sweet's magic could allow them to hear, but this enabled them to see. As many of Wolfram and Hart's devices, this was a hybrid between state of the art technology and magic. You didn't need any special powers to use it, and you could keep it playing continuously. And change views to anywhere programmed into its parameters.

"I wish we could hear them talk, though," Eve remarked. A nasty confrontation with Angel early in his tenure as C.E.O, had brought a halt to the use of bugs.

"Sorry, lovely lady," Sweet apologized. "But my magic only works when all the magic is working, so to speak. No singing, no sound."

"They're going back to research," Eve observed with a superior little sniff. "I guess they haven't figured out that isn't going to help. As soon as they summoned you, the senior partners had me pull all the info there was on you. Anywhere they find where you should be mentioned, they're only going to come across a flag saying classified."

"Hey, look at that." Sweet had changed the focus of the ball, and they saw a janitor dancing with a mop. The dance became more and more frenzied until finally, the inevitable happened.

&&&&&

"Afternoon shift, taking over." Alaric came to replace his sister at the mail cart, and was mildly surprised when she said nothing. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Oh, god," Ariel moaned. She thrust the cart at her brother and ran.

Alaric shrugged and let it pass. His twin had been getting awfully moody of late. He figured that it must be one of those girl things. He moved on to the next office on the route. Thanks to living in the building, the twins knew most of the people who worked at Wolfram and Hart, but this one, better than most.

"Mail call, Mum." Alaric shuffled through the incoming stuff, but didn't see any for his mother.

"I don't have any mail to send, darling, I'm sorry." Rose seemed to think that it would disappoint him that she didn't have anything for him to do.

Alaric rolled his eyes. "It's no big, Mum." He sounded more than somewhat condescending. But while he was here, he thought he'd see if his mother knew what was going on. "Hey, do you have any idea what's eating Ariel? She was acting like she had a real bad morning, but she didn't say anything but, 'oh, god'."

Rose frowned, she didn't like seeing any of her family upset. "I don't know, dear. She didn't come here. Or if she did it was while I was in a meeting." Her brow furrowed in thought. "Has she been acting any differently lately?" she asked, not stopping to think that a great deal of the recent discord in their home came from both twins acting differently.

Alaric shrugged again. "I dunno," he mumbled. He suddenly felt a right git. Suppose whatever was wrong with his sister was something that she didn't want their parents to know? If that was the case, he had ruined everything by breaking their personal code a maintaining a united front against adult interference.

Rose didn't look entirely relieved, but she was no longer as concerned. She was sure that if there was something seriously bothering her daughter, then her twin would surely know. "Well, don't let me keep you then." She dismissed her son. "I'm sure there are lots of other offices you have to visit."

"Yes, Mum," Alaric sighed. Parents.


	4. Revelations and Deceptions

30

Revelations and Deceptions

After Alaric had relieved her, Ariel had gone home and locked herself in her room with no intent of coming out again. Ever.

She heard her parents and brother come home, but just laid there in bed. Not crying, but feeling utterly miserable. She should have known that she wouldn't simply be allowed to absent herself with no explanation.

"Ariel, darling, it's almost dinner time," Rose announced after one soft tap on the door. Despite the fact that three of them drank their meals, they always gathered around the table at dinner time.

"I'm not hungry." Ariel knew such an answer would bring unwanted parental concern, but not as much as not answering at all.

"Are you all right?" Rose's voice was so full of loving concern that it was nearly palpable.

"I'm fine," Ariel lied. "Just not hungry."

A silence followed and Ariel began to believe that was going to be the end of it.

A solid knock this time. "Got time to talk to your dad for a minute, baby girl?" Spike asked.

"I don't really feel like it right now, Daddy," Ariel answered cautiously, glad she had locked the door.

There was a creaking, groaning sound, a sharp snap, and then the whole door came off the hinges. Another good yank, and Spike had it pulled free of the lock, too.

Since she had no further refuge, Ariel settled for burying her head under her pillows.

Then, she felt the edge of the bed give, and the pillows being removed, one by one.

Ariel wasn't sure just what she'd expected next, but it wasn't Spike pulling her onto his lap and cuddling her close. He had kind of backed off on that sort of thing lately, and as Ariel snuggled up to him, she realized she'd missed it.

Spike just held his daughter for a while, stroking her hair, feeling a little bit of the tension in her ease off. God, he'd missed this. But the fact was, his baby girl was growing up, and things that were okay when she was tiny weren't so okay now. This was for her comfort, though, not his, and he should be finding out what was troubling his precious child. "Someone at the firm give you a rough time, baby?" he queried softly. It was the only thing that sprang to mind.

"Nooo," Ariel drew it out slowly. "Not exactly, anyway."

Spike felt a cold chill in the pit of his stomach. "Was there.., singing involved?" he inquired hesitantly, not sure if he wanted an honest answer to that one.

Ariel sat up straight so abruptly that the top of her head clipped Spike's chin. "Ow! Sorry, Daddy," she apologized. "You know what's causing the singing?"

Spike sighed. Sometimes it had actually been easier when the kids had snooped everything they wanted to know out of his mind.

The thought occurred to Ariel too. She looked directly into her father's eyes and looked into his mind more deeply than she'd been in anyone's save her twin's for the past few years. She saw it all, Sweet, what he'd done in Sunnydale, and what her parents and godparents feared he was doing here. She also saw something that, deep in her heart she knew, but that she and Alaric hadn't been too willing to acknowledge lately. How much they were loved. She snuggled back into Spike's shoulder and burst into tears.

"Oh, Daddy," she wailed. "It was so embarrassing."

&&&&&

"I need to talk to you." Lindsey barged into Angel's office uninvited and unannounced.

"Where's Corinna?" Even though they weren't an item anymore, she was still his assistant, having taken over from Harmony when she left, and part of her job was to keep out the people he didn't want to see. Which included, at the moment, and indeed, most of the time, Lindsey.

Lindsey shrugged. "It's not my day to watch her," he drawled, flinging himself into a chair. "I want to talk to you about what it would take to get you to accept my resignation."

"You're an asset to the firm, Lindsey." It was the truth, but in the sarcastic tones Angel used, it didn't sound much like it. "Besides, I like having you where I can see you. That way I can be sure you're not getting ready to stick a knife in my back."

"Like that would do any good," Lindsey grunted. "Listen, I know you want to be able to keep tabs on me, but does it have to be here? You could transfer me to a branch half-way around the world."

If Angel didn't know better, he could swear that Lindsey was starting to sound desperate. "Supposing I were insane enough to agree," Angel replied cautiously. "Why are you so set on getting out of here."

"It's personal," Lindsey mumbled, looking at the floor.

"And personal just happened to get urgent now," Angel mused. He still couldn't work out a way to make Lindsey the villain, though. But his sudden yearning to be free of his position might have its roots in the current situation. "Sing to the wrong person today, Lindsey?" No malice in his voice, but no kindness, either.

Lindsey's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "You knew?" he demanded incredulously. "You knew that something like this was going to happen and you didn't warn m.., anyone?"

That was enough to make Angel feel more than a little ashamed. He had been so concerned with what he perceived to be the main event that he had forgotten to consider the opening acts, as it were. "Oh, shit," he muttered, disgusted with himself and hating to have Lindsey see it. "When I talked to you, it was just a hunch, I wasn't sure. Not until yesterday." But there was that nagging little voice in the back of his head pointing out that he'd known then and hadn't taken any steps, whatever they might be, to protect all the employees in his charge.

Lindsey sat up straight. "Is it dangerous?" he asked. "Or do you just die of embarrassment?"

"How does burning from the inside out grab you?" Angel inquired rhetorically. He snatched up the phone. "Corinna? Get the senior staff in here, pronto."

Lindsey sighed. He'd work on the transfer another time, this was obviously a crisis of epic proportions, and Angel and the rest of the fang gang would certainly not appreciate having him underfoot. He started to get up.

"Please stay, Lindsey." Angel almost gagged, having to be polite to Lindsey, but even after having run the place for years, he still didn't know as much about how the place operated as Lindsey did, and right now, he had the feeling he was going to need every advantage he could get coping with Sweet's influence.

Lindsey sank back down in his seat in shock. He wasn't sure his knees would support him now. "You're including me in a senior staff meeting?" He was too stunned even for sarcasm.

"You probably know all the fail-safes in this place better than I do," Angel admitted. "We had an impromptu meeting yesterday, but when we thought we figured out why the demon was here, I'm afraid that we didn't.., I didn't even stop to consider the possibility of collateral damage."

Lindsey nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that," he said slowly. "Am I allowed to ask just what you do think is going on?"

It was Angel's turn to sigh. But if he was going to include Lindsey in things, he really ought to bring him up to speed. All except the one piece of information that they were sure that the senior partners wanted. Lindsey could stay in the dark with them.

&&&&&

"To be honest..," Lindsey began.

"That'll be a first," Fred muttered.

"Can we please refrain from editorializing?" Angel suggested mildly, even though the self-same thought had crossed his mind. "This is important."

"As I was saying," Lindsey went on smoothly, becoming so inured to the multitude of shocks that Angel reprimanding someone for interrupting him hardly even registered. "While I know there are contingency plans to cover about anything, I really think this is off the scope."

"And knowing it's coming doesn't help," Spike stated flatly. "Far's I know, the only way to make it stop is to persuade the demon to leave." His whole face hardened. "Though I wouldn't say no to kicking some demon ass," he added, conveniently forgetting that he hadn't done all that well against Sweet's flunkies. "Bad enough he's probably here to snoop on my wife, but when you add to it that he's caused someone to embarrass my little girl to tears, I take that kind of personal."

"How could someone singing to her be embarrassing?" Lorne inquired.

Spike shook his head. "She wouldn't say exactly," he replied thoughtfully. "I sort of got the impression that there's a bloke involved."

"Spike!" Rose protested, aghast. "She's only thirteen. I mean, she's..,"

"Going through puberty and having all kinds of chemicals going through her body," Fred interrupted. "Not to mention which, she might have a crush on someone."

"That's ridiculous." Wesley jumped in with it before Rose could. "There's no one here that's anywhere near Ariel's age."

Fred gave him a pitying look. "Like that's got anything to do with it," she remarked. "Trust me on this one, hon, I'm the one with the experience of being an adolescent female."

Angel had only been half paying attention to the digression when something clicked. He turned to look at Lindsey. "This wouldn't have anything to do with why you wanted a transfer, would it?" His tones were mild enough, but his eyes shot daggers.

"Ariel doesn't have a crush on me," Lindsey stated firmly, and so quickly that he gave himself at least partially away just by the simple fact that he knew that.

Spike's eyes were starting to flash warning signals. "What did you say to my daughter, you git?"

By now, everyone's eyes were on Lindsey, and none of them were particularly friendly.

Lindsey quickly assessed the situation and gave up. "I would have waited for her forever," he confessed softly. Then, with a bitter laugh added, "Let's just be friends doesn't sound any better when it's sung."

"You're in love with her?" Rose murmured. Her expression had softened considerably.

"I don't know, I never felt like this before." Lindsey's voice was starting to sound a little irritable. "Aren't we getting a little off topic here?"

"Quite right," Wesley agreed. Lindsey was still on the receiving end of some nasty looks from the y chromosome contingent. "We don't know how to protect the employees, or even if we can, and we also know that forewarned is not forearmed."

"There's no way we can afford to just shut down, either," Gunn put in his two cents worth. If they ever forgot for one instant that no matter what side they were on, the firm was a business and needed to make a profit to stay in business, Eve was there to remind them.

"So I guess that it boils down to do we tell everyone or not?" Lorne remarked. "I mean, you've got to consider that a Wolfram and Hart employee learns to expect weird stuff from time to time. Occupational hazard."

"I don't want to cause a panic," Angel said slowly. "But it doesn't feel right to let them walk into a dangerous situation without knowing about it."

Spike hadn't removed his gaze from Lindsey since the lawyer's admission of having feelings for Ariel, but the question that came out of his mouth was one that no one could have anticipated. "What would your old boss have done?"

"Holland?" Lindsey seemed as shocked as anyone. "He probably would have been business as usual as long as it didn't inconvenience him. Or the senior partners."

"And we're pretty sure that the senior partners don't have a problem with it," Gunn remarked.

"All things considered, there hasn't been all that much singing," Wesley observed. "Maybe Sweet isn't able to get through to us very well for some reason." He looked pointedly at Rose.

"Probably all the mystical fail-safes this place has," Lindsey drawled. "This firm has more wards than the Mayo clinic."

"I'm betting that sooner or later he'll work his way around them," Angel replied grimly. "But on the bright side, we haven't had any fatalities yet."

"But we have." Corinna had been sitting there so quietly that they'd all nearly forgotten she was there. "One of the janitorial staff."

"And you were going to tell me this.., when?" Angel snapped.

"I put the report on your desk," Corinna shot back. Then, for good measure, added, "Sir."

"What report?" Angel demanded. "I went through everything you put on my desk. I'm pretty sure I'd notice something that mentioned one of the staff being turned into a charcoal briquette."

"Before everyone starts shouting," Rose interposed, loudly enough to be heard, but not at all angrily. "You might want to consider the fact that if the senior partners are covering the demon's tracks, they may have caused that report to go astray. There's no call to take it out on Corinna. Has she ever lied to you?"

"When she first came here," Angel answered, starting to feel sheepish from the reprimand, but not quite willing to back down.

"If I recall, she just neglected to tell you everything," Rose said pointedly. "Sort of like I did." She fixed the C.E.O. with an unblinking gaze.

"I'm sorry, Corinna." Angel wasn't going to give Rose further cause to scold. Having teenage twins, she'd become quite adept at it. "I didn't mean to imply you were deliberately withholding information."

"I understand," Corinna replied. She shot a grateful smile in Rose's direction.

"Have the council come up with anything yet, Wes?" Angel asked hopefully, happy to change the subject.

Wesley shook his head. "Not yet," he replied. "But they really haven't had time to do any research yet, Angel." He quirked a wry grin. "Not having Wolfram and Hart's resources, they have to do it the hard way. It takes time."

"You did tell them it was urgent, didn't you?" Gunn inquired. He was already having gruesome mental images of smoldering while singing 'A Modern Major General'.

The Watcher gave him a faint smile. "They know, Gunn. And I'm sure they'll do their best. Giles was positively horrified to learn that Sweet was here." He got to his feet. "I don't think we're going to accomplish much this way. I think Rose and I ought to get back to research."

"Wait!" The researchers halted at Angel's command. "Spike, do you remember what that amulet looked like? Good enough to provide us with a sketch maybe?"

"Maybe," Spike allowed. "But you have to handle the artwork. I can't draw a convincing stick man."

"I see." Lindsey had picked up on it. "If we know what the amulet looks like, we might be able to figure out who the blushing bride to be is."

"And if we can put our hands on her, it might just give us a bargaining chip that will help us get out of this with our hides unsinged," Lorne added. "Good thinking, boss man."

Within minutes, Angel had a drawing that agreed with Spike's description as well as he could remember. Corinna made copies for everyone, and so armed, they went back to work.

&&&&&

Ariel wheeled the mail cart around this morning with less grumbling and a lot more trepidation than she had on the previous day. The gentle, loving, third degree that Daddy had given her last night had, in some ways, been worse than if he'd just yelled at her. And she'd taken care to make her escape from the apartment this morning before her twin had woken up enough to start asking awkward questions as well. He'd tried, after she'd already started working, and she'd gratefully latched onto that as an excuse. All business, no time for idle chit-chat. She could tell though, that 'Ric had been hurt. Somehow, once they'd gotten out of this mess, she was going to have to make it up to him.

She looked up and saw that the next office on her route was Lindsey's, and sighed. She surreptitiously crossed her fingers and pushed the cart on in.

&&&&&

Instead of his usual ninety to the minute chatter on the phone, Lorne was lurking in the hallways, heading anywhere he heard a voice being lifted in song. It was keeping him plenty busy. So far, he hadn't gotten much of anything they didn't already know. About the demon, that is. As for the rest, it was pretty much employee screenings with a vengeance.

Another person burst into song, and Lorne tracked the source of the sound. Just as he rounded a corner, however, the lights went painfully out.

&&&&

"Do you really think Lorne is going to pick up anything useful screening all and sundry?" Spike asked. He swung his staff in a lazy-looking, easy to dodge arc, then at the last moment, switched directions.

Angel grunted as the staff caught him a glancing blow to the ribs. He hadn't caught on to the deception quickly enough. "I don't know," he admitted. "And if we don't have him try, we never will." He swung his staff at Spike's head, and the younger vamp ducked it with ease.

"All things considered," Spiked mused aloud. "If he could, don't you think the senior partners would know that? And give the demon the 4-1-1 on him?"

Angel stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, shit," he muttered softly. He ran to where his jacket was hanging, pulled out his cell phone and punched in Lorne's number and waited. And waited. And waited. He looked helplessly at Spike. "He's not picking up."

"And it's not busy either, I take it," Spike commented. "Hell and damnation. The poncey buggers must've gotten to him."


	5. A Spiked Solution?

39

A Spiked Solution?

"Damn." Angel stopped to think a moment, then started dialing security's number but stopped pushing buttons half way through.

"What?" inquired Spike, who'd been watching the show.

"It suddenly occurred to me that if security is getting so sloppy that Lorne could be assaulted or abducted or whatever," Angel explained. "Then there's probably a reason for it."

"Like them getting their orders from higher up than you," Spike commented. "You want me and my lads to do a top to bottom search of the place?"

"I very much doubt we have that kind of time," Angel replied. He considered. "Then again, the intention probably isn't to hurt Lorne. Just keep him out of the way where he can't dig up any crucial information."

"You're awfully damn trusting," Spike remarked. "Look, the bastard gets off on watching people burn. And there's no doubt that Lorne would give him a hell of a show before he went."

"Don't you think it's likely that the senior partners set some boundaries to keep the casualties down?" Angel sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Spike, who just gave him a pitying look and shook his head.

&&&&

"Trank guns?" Rose suggested dubiously. She didn't much care for the idea, but it was a marked improvement over doing nothing.

Wesley shook his head. "Aside from the fact that the human body can only take so many drugs over a certain period of time," he pointed out. "A tranquilizer gun isn't really meant to be up close and personal. For example, if I shot you with one at this range, not only would you be sedated, but there'd be a fair amount of physical damage as well."

"And it wouldn't really do too much for our productivity if we knocked out everyone the moment they start singing," Rose mused. "But we've got to do something, Wesley." Her face clouded over. "I don't want any more people dying because of me."

"Rose, you are not responsible for that man's death," Wesley said firmly. "Blame it on Sweet, or the senior partners, but your hands are clean."

"But it's because of me," Rose stated quietly. Before Wes could open his mouth, she diverted him. "Would you excuse me for a few minutes, Wesley? I've got a dreadful headache, and I want to go take something for it."

"Certainly," Wes agreed. "But try not to be too long. The senior partners may have classified everything to do with Sweet himself, but I'd like to see if we can dig up anything about that amulet."

&&&&&

Ariel trundled her cart down the hallway with a sigh of relief. Lindsey hadn't been in his office, he'd been to some meeting or other, so all she'd had to do was drop off the incoming mail and pick up the outgoing stuff, so there had been no chance of a repeat performance of yesterday's awkward scene.

Ariel reached up and touched the pendant that lay concealed beneath her shirt. Aside from bathing, she'd worn it every waking moment since she'd received it.

Never once did it occur to her to wonder why Angel would ship it to her when he lived right in the same building.

And she willfully ignored the likelihood that Angel would be horrified at the thought of being romantically involved with a girl he'd bottle fed and changed diapers for.

Point of fact, Ariel wasn't doing much thinking at all, she was just feeling.

The cart halted for a minute as she wondered what it would feel like to have Angel kiss her. Not the avuncular pecks that she was accustomed to receiving from him either. A real kiss. She sighed and started pushing her cart forward again.

&&&&&&

"Well, well, well." Sweet looked over a tied up Lorne. "I just don't understand why you'd work against me." He began singing.

"You and me, we're brothers in song

We could go places teemed up together

Why don't you come along?"

Lorne glared at him. "I use music to help people," he snapped. Then, perhaps because of his proximity to Sweet, he started singing too.

"What I use to heal, you use to kill

You're no brother of mine

The things you do makes my blood chill

I won't cross that line."

"Man have you got a set of pipes on you," Sweet said admiringly. "Better consider my offer though, friend. Unless you really want to burn."

"Or he could just tell us what the partners want to know." Eve appeared out of nowhere. "Save everyone a lot of time and trouble. Not to mention saving lives, which should mean something to you."

Lorne showed his teeth in a manner that was never intended as a smile. "I think I'll do it the old-fashioned way, rather than rat out my friends, thanks all the same."

Eve shrugged. "You had your shot," she said airily. "This is more fun anyway." She looked at Sweet. "Have I missed any more human torches?"

Sweet shook his head. "There are too many enchantments on this place. Most of the people are singing, but no one else has gone up so far."

Eve seated herself so she could watch both Lorne and the crystal ball. "We've got time," she remarked lightly. "A lot more time than they have."

&&&&&

"Rose, I was just thinking..," Angel said as he entered her office. He didn't see Rose, but he heard a muffled thud, and a not so muffled 'ouch'. He followed the sound. "What are you doing under your desk?"

Rose emerged, rubbing the top of her head. "I dropped my pen and it rolled under the desk," she explained. "I almost had it when you came in and gave me heart failure."

Angel couldn't refrain from grinning, even though he did genuinely regret Rose getting hurt because of him. "I'm sorry, Rose." He gave her a quick hug and an even quicker kiss on the rising bump. "Better?"

Rose shook her head, but she was smiling too. "What am I going to do with you, Liam?"

"You haven't called me Liam in a long time," Angel remarked.

"I haven't really had all that much time to talk lately," Rose admitted. "Except for the other night when Spike sent me to your place. I doubt if I was very good company then."

Angel laughed aloud at the memory. "You acted like spiders were going to come out of the woodwork and head right for you."

"What were you thinking, Angel?" Rose suddenly switched topics on him.

"What? The other night?" She'd totally lost him.

"No," Rose said patiently. "When you walked in here and scared me into an early grave."

Angel had to think backwards to remember why he had come here. "Oh, it's about the kids." He blurted it out lest the thought run away from him again.

Rose sat down with a thump. "What have they done now?" she moaned.

"They aren't in trouble, Rose," Angel hastened to assure her. "I just thought you might want to consider holding off on the part-time jobs until we deal with the Sweet situation."

Rose thought a few minutes. "No," she finally answered. "I don't think I do. I'm assuming the enchantment probably covers the whole building, so they wouldn't be any safer at home. Less so, probably. Here, if they got into difficulties, help would be closer to hand."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Angel confessed. "You want me to find other stuff they can do so they're not alone at all?"

"I'm not sure," Rose replied. "I'll talk it over with Spike and get back to you later." She sighed. "I certainly don't wish anyone ill, but if something did happen in front of my firstborn, maybe it would convince him that dangerous situations aren't 'cool'."

Angel gave her a look of pure innocence. "You mean they're not?"

Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation, but couldn't suppress a giggle. "On second thought, wait right there. I'll call Spike and see what he thinks."

&&&&&

"Spike, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?" Gunn seldom saw Spike unless there was a staff meeting.

"Just looking for something to occupy my time for a few," Spike replied with a shrug. "When my whole unit started doing a production number, I decided to take steps."

"What kind of steps?" Gunn asked.

Spike smiled a little ruefully. "Don't reckon I'm going to be too popular down there when they come to," he remarked. "They may all wake up with headaches, but at least they won't be well done."

Gunn grinned. "Saves on the paperwork."

"Especially the condolence letters," Spike agreed. "I just can't seem to get the hang of...," He was interrupted by a blast of heavy metal music which announced he had a call on the cell phone he'd finally been persuaded to carry.

"Hello?" His features softened considerably when the voice on the other end acknowledged his greeting. Had to be Rose, Gunn thought, carrying on with unashamedly eavesdropping.

"You didn't call just to tell me how much you love me?" Spike inquired in mock-injured tones. "Just teasing, babe. I know you do. He what? I dunno, we haven't started singing at home yet. Point taken, luv. Do what you think is best, and tell the ponce that if he can't come up with better, send them down to me. Love you too, pet."

Gunn hadn't quite figured things out from hearing one side of the conversation, so he decided to cut to the chase and just ask. "What gives?"

"Precautionary measures," Spike replied, putting the phone back in his pocket. "We decided to keep the kids round and about the firm until we've taken care of the current demon. Just in case."

"Any word on Lorne yet?" It wasn't just the grapevine, Angel had informed the rest of the senior staff of Lorne's disappearance.

"Bugger all, s'far's I know," Spike answered.

"We've been lucky so many times

To be done in by rhythm and rhymes

Will this be the time our luck runs out

Or will we..,"

Charles was cut off by Spike's fist connecting firmly with his jaw.

"Sorry, Charlie-boy," Spike murmured, hauling the recumbent lawyer back into his office. He sighed. "I'm making all kinds of friends today."

&&&&&

Ariel had had the message passed on to her to report to her father in the practice room when her morning's work was over. She had no idea why the summons had been made, so curiosity had prompted her to go as much if not more than simple obedience.

She walked in on the daily sparring session.

"You knocked them all out?" Angel was saying incredulously. "Why did you knock them all out?"

"What was I supposed to do, wait until they had smoke rising from them?" Spike demanded irritably. "Oh, and by the way, er.., Gunn..,"

Angel sighed. "You hit Gunn too?" It was scarcely a question. "You can't go around decking everyone that sings, Spike. What if it were Rose? Would you hit her?"

"To save her life? You'd bloody well better bet I would," Spike declared. He then noticed that they had company. And the look of horror on her face.

"You'd hit Mummy?" Ariel had difficulty wrapping her mind around that one. No one was as protective of Mummy as Daddy was.

Spike looked pained. Evidently his darling daughter hadn't heard the whole exchange, or in the, to his mind, way of women, picked up only on certain words. And she'd obviously returned to her hands off doctrine, as it were, in regards to mind reading. "Only if that's what it took to keep her from worse harm," he explained patiently. "Do you think I'd want to hit your mum? 'Cause I never did once, not even when she was playing tonsil hockey with your nancy-boy uncle."

"Hey, that was a spell," Angel protested. Any mention of that unfortunate incident elicited that response almost automatically.

"Daddy, I wish you'd quit picking on Uncle Angel." Ariel went over to her favorite uncle for a hug.

Spike groaned. Rose had been on him about that for years now, and now his precious little girl had evidently jumped on the bandwagon. He decided the only answer to that that wouldn't entirely rob him of dignity was no answer at all. "What, no hug for your dad too?"

Much as she loved her father, Ariel would have preferred staying where she was, particularly since Angel seemed to have no objection to holding her indefinitely, a decided step in the right direction, to her way of thinking. But if she did that, Daddy would likely get all suspicious and there would probably be a big embarrassing scene. She'd already had one of those this week, and felt that one was enough. More than enough. She detached herself from Angel to give Spike a hug.

"That's better," Spike remarked, with definite overtones of smug.

"What were you two arguing about?" Ariel asked.

"Your dad seems to think that the way to deal with the situation is to cold-cock anyone who starts singing," Angel replied, fighting to hold back his irritation at Spike in front of Ariel. Not to mention a few choice expletives.

"And you're just for sitting on your hands and doing nothing," Spike accused. "Won't even let me and the lads search the place for Lorne."

"What about Uncle Lorne?" This was the first either twin had heard of it.

Angel sighed. "Way to go, Spike," he growled. He turned back to his niece. "I'm sure that Lorne is just fine," he lied, forgetting just what Ariel was capable of.

Ariel decided that they'd stonewall her as long as she let them, so she immediately dove into both men's minds. And just as quickly relayed the pertinent information to her twin. "I think you're going to have to let us handle this one," she remarked carefully, preparing for the flurry of objections.

"What?" It burst from both Angel and Spike at once. Still perfectly in sync, they added, "It's absolutely out of the question."

"We're the best chance you have of finding Uncle Lorne," Ariel pointed out. "'Ric and I will read every mind in this building if we have to. He's already started. The only reason that I haven't is that I'm busy pointing out the obvious to you."

"Well he can just bloody stop," Spike replied heatedly. Then, the rest of her statement sank in. "What do you mean, pointing out the obvious?"

"Hush, Daddy," Ariel said almost absently, her eyes unfocusing. She held up a hand to keep Angel from throwing his two cents worth in. The room got so quiet that the ticking of the clock on the wall was quite audible.

Suddenly, Ariel let out her breath in a rush. "Uncle Lorne is all right," she said in relief, then gave Angel a look that just dared him to say 'I told you so'.

"He's still in the building then?" Angel asked, at least as relieved as Ariel.

Ariel nodded. "He won't say where in the building, though," she replied. "He says that right now with me and 'Ric tuned into him, he probably ought to stay where he is."

"Once more, with a bit of clarity," Spike suggested.

"The demon is there," Ariel explained. "And Eve. Uncle Lorne think he might be able to pick up some information from them. Since we can 'hear' him, he can pass it along to us to tell you."

Angel shook his head. "It's too risky," he stated. "Especially since he's that close to Sweet. I want to get him out of there now."

Ariel concentrated again and her features took on an expression of extreme frustration. "He's blocking us, Uncle Angel," she grumbled. "He told us not to contact him anymore. He'll let us know when he has more information." Lorne, normally, was not a telepath, but being empathic gave him an edge. He could usually get the twins to 'hear' him if they were 'listening'.

"Don't call us, we'll call you," Spike paraphrased. "What is that green nit up to?"

"Playing hero," Angel grunted disgustedly, just as if he had never done it himself. "And there's not much we can do about it besides to just let him."

"I don't trust that Eve person," Ariel remarked with a sniff. Neither twin had ever taken to Eve, which wasn't really much of a surprise.

"The fact she's there confirms something we suspected all along," Angel said thoughtfully. "Now we know for sure that the senior partners are behind this."

&&&&&

"Where were you just now?" Eve asked curiously. She snapped her fingers right in front of Lorne's face.

The Pylean jumped as far as his bonds would go, which wasn't very far. "What?"

"I asked where you've been," Eve repeated. "It's too bad too, you just missed the spider-woman. She isn't half bad."

"Sorry," Lorne lied smoothly. "The company is just so intellectually stimulating that I almost dozed off."

"Or maybe you were having a little telepathic confab with Rose and Spike's brats?" Eve guessed.

"You're way behind the times," Lorne informed her. "They've gotten seriously gunshy on the whole telepathy thing."

"And of course we're just supposed to take your word for it?" Sweet queried, prying his gaze from the ball.

Lorne shrugged, or the closest approximation he could manage while snugly bound. "Ask around," he invited. "Everyone will tell you the same thing."

"Why would they do that?" Eve mused. "Why would anyone, even kids, give up such an obvious advantage?"

"You ever heard the word freak?" Lorne asked pointedly. "Or had it used to describe you? They have enough to contend with without people treating them like a side show attraction."

Sweet turned back to the crystal ball and changed views to show Ariel. "I'd better not catch anybody calling my bride a freak," he muttered, to himself. Unfortunately too low for anyone, especially, Lorne, to hear.

"I'm starting to get a little bored," Eve announced. "I think I'll just take a little stroll around the building and see what's shaking."

"If there were any justice in the situation," Lorne said. "What's shaking would be you, in your expensive, little designer shoes."

Eve laughed, and left.

Lorne glared after her, then turned his glare on Sweet.


	6. Unexpected Developments

45

Okay, this story has been a little disappointing in the way of reviews. In fact, I haven't had one since the first chapter. One of the main reasons that I do this is to get your feedback. Find out what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong. I won't know if you don't tell me. C'mon, folks, throw me a bone here. Let me hear what you think. Sid

Unexpected developments

The whole Powers family heaved a collective sigh of relief when the day was over. True, there was no evidence to suppose that home was a safe haven, but since they hadn't yet started singing there, it felt like it.

Immediately after dinner, the twins went into Alaric's room. They deliberately left the door wide open so their parents could see they weren't up to anything. They just sat in the middle of the floor and thought at each other.

Spike was in front of the t.v. There was a new show starting tonight and he wanted to see how it measured up to the current garbage that was airing. He didn't have very high expectations at this point in time, but he wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.

Rose was snuggled up next to Spike with a book in her hands. She was actually spending more time thinking than reading. The book was a smoke screen. Or at least, that was how it was intended.

Spike slid his arm down off the top of the sofa and wrapped it around Rose, pulled her close. "Good book, luv?" he asked.

"It's.., very interesting," Rose hedged, cursing herself for the hesitation. But the love of her life had taken her unawares.

"Zat so?" Spike's voice was far too casual. "Then how come you haven't turned a page for the last twenty minutes?"

Rose was caught, and she knew it. There was no way she could convince Spike it had taken her that long to get through two pages, he knew how fast she could read. And she wouldn't have been wool-gathering if the book was as interesting as she claimed. To be honest, she'd grabbed one more or less at random and didn't even know what book she had.

Spike took the book out of her hands and glanced at the cover. "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, yes, I can see how riveting that would be." While the children had mentally outgrown such childish fare shortly after they were born, Rose had kept the children's books for sentiment's sake.

Spike looked right into Rose's eyes, and she felt like a crawling worm for trying to deceive him even just a little bit.

"She's thinking about telling the senior partners everything they want to know so no one else dies," Alaric announced as the twins entered the room.

"And so they'll let Uncle Lorne go," Ariel added.

Rose looked so guilty that there was no further confirmation needed.

Spike, knowing Rose as he did was totally unsurprised. Always did put everyone else's welfare before her own. He scooped Rose up onto his lap and cuddled her. "Nothing doing, babe," he scolded softly. "You and me may be living entirely on borrowed time, but we've got the kids to consider."

"She was thinking about us, Daddy," Ariel said, taking the spot where Rose had been sitting.

Alaric leaned on the back of the sofa. "That's what she was thinking so hard about," he elaborated. "Whether or not it would be safer for us if she told."

"So, you're back to reading minds again?" Spike inquired. Take the heat off Rose for a bit. It really was a conversation he preferred to keep, as much as possible, between the two of them.

"Yeah," Alaric answered a little sheepishly. "We just had a long discussion about it."

"We are who and what we are," Ariel remarked. "It won't go away if we ignore it."

"Besides, Mum's family, her other one, must've had a reason for making us telepaths," Alaric went on.

"So, obviously we should be using it," Ariel finished.

Spike looked around at his nearest and dearest for a moment, when one of those moments just came upon him. "Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to have you lot?"

&&&&

"Starting to settle down for the night," Sweet murmured regretfully. A definite downside to casting his spell on a business rather than a whole town. In a town, there was almost always someone out and about. There were a few people still in the law firm, but not many. He decided to see what was going on in the senior partner's suite. He thought he'd take another stab at breaking through the myriad wards on the place.

Ah, there they were. The kids looked like they were calling it a night, or being told to, and that was all well and good to his mind. Didn't want anything happening to the little Mrs. He focused his power on Rose and Spike.

Lorne was half-dozing in his chair when a snatch of song came to him, first in a lovely contralto, then it switched to baritone, and then, the two voices blended. And Lorne knew those voices as well as his own. From what he could hear so far, the information this song contained was relatively harmless. Just Spike and Rose saying how much they loved each other. Which was about as far as you could get from being a secret.

"You've got a secret so deep that the senior partners can't dig it up." Sweet sounded disgusted. "And all you can find to sing about is something anyone could find out two minutes inside the door." He stopped talking and started listening. Something in the tone told him that the theme was going to change.

&&&&

The twins hadn't dozed off yet when their parents started singing. They met in the hallway near the entrance to the living room.

"Think we should try to stop them?" muttered Alaric. For some reason, using telepathy now didn't occur, even though the twins had always mind-talked to each other, even when they quit using it on other people. But they had been listening to their parents sing all their lives, including in vitro, and this was.., different somehow.

"Not unless they start singing about what Mummy used to be, or maybe still is," Ariel whispered. No one was sure which way that went. "Or if they start smoking."

"I don't like just standing here with my thumb up my ass," Alaric grumbled.

"Me neither," Ariel admitted. "But you should have heard Uncle Angel rip into Daddy for knocking people unconscious, and he was holding back because I was there."

"I'll monitor Mum and you monitor Dad," Alaric suggested. "If it looks like they're getting ready to say it, we'll jump them."

"Okay," Ariel agreed, even though her loving twin had stuck her with their father. Shutting Spike up would be a much more formidable task than subduing Rose.

Spike: "From the very first I knew

That you and I were meant to be

Our souls in adoration linked

Through all eternity."

Rose: "You were the one that I was made for

All I am I owe to you

You taught me how to live and love

And to be human too."

"This is getting close to dangerous territory," Alaric growled softly. "Ready, Viv?"

"As I'll ever be," Ariel murmured.

Then, their parent's voices blended again.

"Before I (you) was (were) only a..,"

"Now!" Ariel hissed urgently. And moving perfectly in sync, each twin bowled over one of their parents, clapping a hand over their mouths on the way down.

Spike and Rose struggled against their children for a few moments, then, just as the light of reason began to come back into their eyes, they both closed their eyes and became completely still.

The twins exchanged alarmed looks. "We couldn't've hit them that hard," Alaric whispered in stricken tones. It seemingly hadn't occurred to him that whispering was no longer necessary.

"Even if you did hit hard enough to knock Mummy out," Ariel added, also in hushed tones. "I know I couldn't knock Daddy out."

Alaric was starting to look decidedly panic stricken. "What'll we do?" The whites were showing all the way around his eyes.

Ariel stood up. It looked.., creepy, seeing Spike and Rose laying there so still. She'd be willing to bet a year's allowance that there was some mystical force involved. But whether mystical or mundane, there was only one thing she could think to do. She picked up the phone and hit one of the speed dial buttons. "Uncle Angel?"

&&&&&

Everyone was gathered around the twin beds in medical. There were more types of monitors than anyone could imagine hooked up to both patients. Alaric and Ariel were looking not only concerned, but incredibly guilty as well.

Angel caught the look. "This is not your fault," he stated firmly, and far from the first time since Ariel's frantic phone call. "There's no way you guys could have done this to them."

"But we're vampires," Alaric argued, sounding all the while as if he wanted to believe his uncle. "We're very strong."

"Your father is a vampire too," Wesley pointed out gently. "Angel is right. Whatever did this, it wasn't the two of you."

Fred was staring at the read-outs. Of course, there wasn't a lot to be told about Spike, and she wondered that they'd even bothered to hook vitals monitors to him. But the ones on Rose weren't reading a whole lot differently. If it weren't for the gentle rise and fall of her chest proclaiming that she was still breathing, Fred would swear she was dead. But she couldn't say so in front of the kids.

"She can't be dead, she's still breathing," Ariel said, revealing that they'd scrapped their mind's off policy.

"They're going to be all right, aren't they?" Alaric sounded near tears.

Gunn put a sympathetic arm around the boy and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Sure they are," he replied, trying to inject an optimistic note into his voice.

Ariel wasn't paying attention to her brother at the moment, even though she could feel his distress as well as her own. Her attention was still focused on her parents. At long last, she turned and looked at Alaric.

"They're not dead." It was a statement, she was sure now.

"Then where are they?" Alaric demanded, blinking furiously in an effort to keep from crying. "They're not in there." A wave of his hand indicated his parent's inert bodies.

"What do you mean, they're not in there?" Angel was finding that trying to put a brave face on things for the kid's sake was as difficult as it was most probably useless.

"If they were asleep, or unconscious, probably even in a regular coma," Ariel began explaining. "They'd still be there, just not awake."

"But it's like they're not even in their bodies," Alaric finished. His lower lip began to quiver.

"If they're not in their bodies," Lindsey remarked, easing around the edge of the doorway where he'd obviously been eavesdropping. "Then I guess the big question is, where the hell are they?"

&&&&

"Where the hell are we, babe?" Spike was totally disoriented, and the only thing he was sure of at the moment was that Rose was there. If he'd been asked, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm not entirely sure yet, darling." Rose's voice seemed to have an unusual quality to it until Spike realized she wasn't speaking to him out loud, but in his head, like the kids used to do all the time. Come to that, he didn't see anything by way of a body about. Hers or his.

"Are we.., dead?" He thought maybe he could deal with it as long as it meant he wasn't going to be parted from Rose.

"I don't think so." Rose felt even closer now, like her soul had brushed up against his. It was a comforting feeling. "The closest thing I can think of is it almost seems like the way I was.., before."

"See if you can do something then," Spike urged. Being a disembodied spirit was one thing, but at least the first time around he could see what wasn't there.

Suddenly, they seemed to be in a hallway. It wasn't particularly familiar to Spike, but the decor shouted Wolfram and Hart. There was an amorphous, glowing shape hovering next to where he felt like he was.

"Did you do that?" Spike asked. It was a little creepy, but preferable to any of the alternatives he could think of.

"No," Rose admitted. "But I know who did, now. And what we're supposed to do."

"Your 'other' family?" Spike hazarded a guess.

It was hard to imagine a shapeless blob of light nodding, but somehow, it managed to convey that impression. "We're supposed to keep the others from letting out my secret until they can deal with the demon," Rose explained.

"'We'," Spike echoed. "That sort of thing's your gig, luv, not mine."

"I'll show you how," she replied. "It isn't hard." There was a pause. "I believe you're about to get your demonstration right away. I think we're going to be needed right away."

Spike felt, as much as saw, and wondered how he could see without eyes, the glow that was his beloved pass through the nearest door. He followed easily, not quite knowing how he did it. It was almost as if it were solely a matter of the will.

He came into a long disused office that was obviously being put to other uses now. The desk boasted a wired-up crystal ball, typical of Wolfram and Hart's casual attitude about mixing magic and technology. Over on a small table was the remains of a meal, and nearby was the demon himself. Two demons, actually, the other one being the missing Lorne.

"This gig's a little thin," Sweet said. "And I'm kind of eager to get acquainted with the little woman. Since I've got you here, I'll just concentrate on you." He sang, "You and me, we'll have a little chat/I want to know just where it's at/a secret deeper than the deeps/What's the secret that everybody keeps."

Lorne struggled valiantly against Sweet's spell, but it was too much for him. As he opened his mouth to sing, though, the glow that was Rose surrounded the Pylean. Spike observed Lorne's lips moving, probably singing down the house, he thought. But thanks to Rose, the house couldn't hear a note.

&&&&&

One by one, the onlookers slowly melted away, until there were only three left.

"C'mon guys." Angel put an arm around each of his godchildren. "The medical staff have orders to call me immediately if there's the slightest change."

"Wait," the twins ordered in unison. They went back over to the hospital beds containing the still, still forms and kissed their parents and hugged their motionless bodies.

Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back the tears at the scene. It wasn't just that he cared for Rose, and, in the privacy of his own heart, he could admit it, Spike too. But the real soul-wrenching aspect of the situation was how hard the kids were taking it.

The twins reluctantly re-joined their uncle, but not without many a backward glance. Angel put his arms around them again..

"How would you guys like me to order out for pizza tonight?" he asked in wheedling tones. Okay, so they weren't six anymore, but he couldn't bear seeing them so down, and it was all he could come up with on the spur of the moment.

"No, thank you," Alaric replied, politely enough, which in itself said something about his emotional state.

"Just blood will be fine, Uncle Angel," Ariel assured him. She snuggled closer, and Angel heard a suspicious sniff.

Angel was about to try to find a way to tell the kids it would be all right when there was absolutely no indication that it would be, when something at the end of the corridor caught his eye. A shimmering distortion in the air.

&&&&

"Hey, there's the kids." Spike hadn't known why Rose had insisted on coming this way, but now, he could make an educated guess.

"Poor darlings." In this form, or lack thereof, Spike could actually fell Rose's emotions wash over him, and the overwhelming love and sympathy would have buckled his knees if said appendages weren't currently in a wired-up hospital bed. "They must be so worried."

"Are we allowed to give them a bit of reassurance?" Spike wasn't sure what the rules were in this situation, but he hated seeing his kids looking so utterly bereft every bit as much as Rose did. "Seems we're not such royal pains that they don't miss us, hey, pet?"

The shimmering form that was Rose seemed to stop and waver for a moment, then moved on again towards Angel and the children.

If he could have, Spike would have chuckled aloud when he 'heard' Rose's thought come through to him.

"Screw the rules."

&&&&&

"What is it, Uncle Angel?" The twins were curious, and not yet afraid. After all, wasn't Uncle Angel there to defend them?

"I don't know," Angel admitted. He released the kids and stepped in front of them, motioning them to stay behind them. So far the, whatever it was, didn't seem to be threatening, but a lot of things didn't until they were.

One flickering distortion briefly became two, then melded back into one. It moved towards Angel slowly, almost as if it sensed that a headlong rush would be construed as a hostile move. It stopped in place in front of him. Angel regarded it for long moments, then reached out a tentative hand towards the thing, which then enveloped him, but only briefly. It then moved on to the twins, who had closed the gap their uncle had left between them and covered them in a glow that seemed to grow in intensity.

Angel didn't move, he couldn't. He didn't know how it could be, but he had felt Rose and Spike in that thing. Something possessed him to duck his head towards his shoulder, and he could swear that he could even smell their scents on his clothes. He finally managed to turn around to see the twins.

The glow was already starting to fade. Alaric and Ariel still stood there, and there were tears on both their faces, but even he could tell now that they weren't tears of despair, or worry. They were happy tears.

Then, the spell, or whatever it may have been was broken. The twins ran and threw their arms around Angel.

"Everything's going to be all right, Uncle Angel," Ariel murmured.


	7. Foiled Again

52

Foiled Again

As the next business day started, there were more and more people to cover, even the ones that didn't know Rose's secret were still in danger of singing themselves into an early grave. In order to keep the fatalities to a bare minimum, Rose and Spike had reluctantly agreed that it would probably be best if they split up.

Spike was covering his part of the building when he noticed the mail cart coming down the hall being pushed by his precious little girl. His pleasure at seeing her dimmed, however, when he realized she was headed straight for the MacDonald git's office, and he flashed back on part of the last meeting he'd been to that he hadn't, as of yet, had time to dwell on. Or react to, especially with Rose and her ever-ready elbows right beside him. Rose might think it was sweet and romantic, but Spike's personal feeling on the matter was that he would rather that Lindsey go drooling over someone else's daughter.

He followed Ariel into Lindsey's office, and at first, it looked like neither one of them had anything to say to each other, which was all well and good from Spike's point of view.

But Ariel was nervous, and it showed in that she became all thumbs, and the stack of mail she had missed the edge of the desk by a good margin, to land sprawling across the floor and under the desk.

"Oops, I'm sorry." Blushing scarlet, Ariel dove for the floor.

"It's okay, princess." Lindsey was making a tall effort to pretend that the scene of a couple of days past had never happened. He just hoped like hell he didn't start singing again. "I'll give you a hand with that." He joined Ariel on the floor.

"It's very nice of you, Lindsey," Ariel murmured, still beet-red. "But I'm the one who made the mess."

"Shit happens," Lindsey replied, even knowing that Rose would give him hell if she heard him swearing in front of one of the kids. "I'm not doing this because I feel I have to. I'm doing it because I want to." He didn't like seeing her so tense, especially when he knew the reason why. "I wish you'd stop acting so jumpy, princess. I'm not going to bite you."

Ariel gave a shaky, half-laugh. "I thought biting people was supposed to be a vampire thing." She tried to get up too abruptly though, and whacked the top of her head on the underside of his desk, which elicited a small yip of pain.

She was so busy rubbing the rising bump that she didn't realize that Lindsey was helping her up until he had her seated in his chair.

"Let me see." Lindsey gently removed her hand from her head, and began probing the spot even more gently.

"I'm okay, Lindsey, really." Ariel was trying to think of what Spike would think of this little tableau, and didn't come up with any answers that left Lindsey breathing.

"Stop fidgeting, honey," Lindsey ordered softly. "I'm just trying to make sure there's no serious damage. Not put the make on you." The last sentence had definite overtones of bitterness.

Ariel heard the raw pain in his voice, and wished she could take it away. But how could she? She was in love with Angel, and was certain that she always would be. Lindsey could never be more than a friend, but she didn't want to lose him as such, and did genuinely care about him, that way. Her mind started to drift, so it was even more of a surprise than it might have been when Lindsey dropped to his knees in front of her. Her mouth became a perfect O, but no sound emerged from it.

"I figure groveling at your feet is about right," Lindsey remarked, endeavoring not to let the nervous start she'd made get to him, but it did. "I know I made you really uncomfortable the other day, princess, and I wanted to offer you my sincere and heart-felt apologies."

"Then you didn't mean it?" Ariel was conveniently forgetting that what someone sang under Sweet's influence couldn't be a lie. She was also torn between being relieved, and being miffed.

"I meant every single word of it." Lindsey looked up into her clear, gray eyes, and wondered just what it was about this.., this child, that she'd captured his heart so. "But I am sorry that it upset you. It's the last thing I ever wanted, or ever would want, to do." He gave a sudden, unexplained shudder.

"Are you all right, Lindsey?" Ariel found the subject of whether or not all was well with the Texan to be much easier to deal with than his seeming devotion to her.

"Just fine. Nothing but a little cold chill" Actually, he felt like he'd just been run over by a glacier. He couldn't seem to make himself tear his gaze from her eyes. The cold hit again, and this time nearly doubled him over.

"Something is wrong, Lindsey." Ariel slid out of the chair and knelt beside him. "People don't act like that from a cold chill. Maybe you should see a doctor."

"I'll be fine," Lindsey assured her, enjoying her proximity. "Nobody ever died from a cold chill."

'I'd be willing to give it a shot, you wanker,' Spike thought. 'Bloody well will, too, if you so much as lay a finger on my baby girl in anything but the most innocent manner.'

"You're sure?" Ariel still sounded worried, and the fact that she was concerned for him was a balm to Lindsey's soul.

"Positively," Lindsey lied. He'd never been hit by anything like that cold front that had moved in on him. And he'd be willing to bet that there was nothing there for a doctor to find. But he wasn't about to say so and worry Ariel further. He didn't much fret about her reading it in his mind, because he was pretty sure that right now, his was the last mind she would want to read. "Still friends?" The hope in his voice now was as palpable as the pain had been earlier.

"Of course, silly." Ariel beamed at him. She decided that a friendly hug could do no real harm, and she was used to hugging everybody. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Lindsey.

Lindsey reciprocated with alacrity, and there was a look of pure contentment on his face for a moment. But just for a moment. Then, his features contorted, and he nearly pulled Ariel down the rest of the way onto the floor. "Damn," he gasped. "I'm going to have to have maintenance check in here for cold draughts."

"Don't bother," Ariel said shortly, rising to her feet, then giving him a hand up. Being in contact with Lindsey had let some of the 'chill' spill over on to her as well. "I think I know what's causing your 'cold chills', Lindsey."

"Really?" The kid had resources that he certainly couldn't access, and he was curious as to who or what was targeting him with the deep freeze.

"I can't tell you," Ariel admitted, eyes downcast. "But I think that I can make it stop." She looked around the room as if expecting to see something with a defiant look on her face and deliberately craned her head up and kissed his cheek, then left.

Lindsey stood there in shock for a moment, just watching the door Ariel had disappeared through and thinking that whatever had caused that chill, he owed it one.

&&&&&

"And what I'm telling you is that I'm almost certain he sang the critical information last night." Sweet glared at Eve. He'd been going over and over the same ground for the better part of an hour now. "But all of a sudden it was like he was in a sound-proof booth. I couldn't hear a thing." He saw Eve about to open her mouth and forestalled her. "And I don't read lips, either."

"The partners expect results," Eve stated indifferently, as though Sweet's fate was of no concern to her, as indeed, it wasn't. "If you don't deliver, not only will you not collect your payment, but.., well, let's just say they're even better at dealing out punishments than they are at rewards."

Lorne watched and listened, but didn't particularly care to contribute to the conversation. Last night he had felt his organs tie themselves into knots as he began singing what he knew he shouldn't, but couldn't prevent. It had been at least as big a shock to him as it had been to Sweet. He hadn't even know, at first, that the words weren't sinking in, that somehow the song and dance demon wasn't getting the full effect of his performance.

As a matter of fact, he'd been so consumed by self-loathing that he could be compelled to betray his nearest and dearest, that he didn't notice much of anything until unexpectedly, the compulsion began to wane, and he'd felt an incredible sense of being watched over and cared for to such a degree that there could only be one person responsible. He didn't know how, but he most certainly knew who.

Rosebud.

&&&&

'Daddy, can you hear me?' Ariel knew that in Spike's current condition an ordinary conversation was out of the question, but she thought that telepathy ought to work. She hoped so, anyway. She had quite a lot to say to her loving father.

'Something wrong, baby girl?' She'd been right, it had worked. She could even feel some of the emotion spilling over, like when she and 'Ric mind-talked. Enough, at any rate, to tell that Spike was stalling for time.

'I cannot believe that you just did that.' Ariel let the full extent of her fury boil over.

'Did what?' Spike was caught, he knew he was caught, and worse, he should have known that he would get caught.

'You know damn well what, Daddy,' Ariel fumed. 'And when you get back into your body, I expect you to apologize to Lindsey.'

'You mind your language, Miss.' Stalling, again. Rose was the one who was always on the kids about swearing. Usually all that Spike did about it was to set a bad example. He started to wish that Rose was here, so he could have someone else on his side when it occurred to him that in all probability, his beloved would side with their daughter, and he'd have both of them chewing his metaphysical ass.

'Stop trying to change the subject,' Ariel ordered. 'Really, Daddy, what do you think Mummy would think of what you were doing?'

'Your mum would think I was looking out for your best interests, young lady,' Spike blustered. He didn't think she could read his every passing thought like this, but that remark had cut close enough to the bone to give him doubts.

'Do you really?' Ariel was suddenly sweetness and light, so much so, that is boded no good. 'I think she'd be ripping you a new one for being so mean to Lindsey when he didn't do anything wrong.'

Spike decided it was time to go on the offensive and put his foot down, so to speak. 'You are way too young to understand just what you're getting into with that wolf in a lawyer's suit. Believe it or not, Precious, I am protecting you.'

'I bet Mummy wouldn't think so,' Ariel replied, still ever so sweetly. Mummy was that card that always played best with Daddy, and she was pretty sure that she was right, anyway. 'Shall we ask her?'

'I don't need your mum's permission.' How in the hell had he gotten on the defensive again? 'I'm not doing this because I enjoy winding that git up, you know. I'm doing it because I love you and want to keep you safe.'

'And a virgin until I'm 190,' Ariel added. 'What I want to know is why you're so bent out of shape about Lindsey. He's just a friend.'

'That's all?' In Spike's vast experience, Ariel had been exhibiting all the signs of a girl with a crush of late. And who the better target than Lindsey? Aside from being attractive and personable, the wanker had come right out and said that he'd been waiting for her to grow up. And was willing to keep on waiting. Bound to go to a young girl's head.

'I'm not in love with him, Daddy,' Ariel replied. She knew better than to further enlighten Spike about her love-life. And she had a sneaking suspicion that no man would ever measure up, in Spike's eyes, to be good enough for his little girl.

Spike was dubious, but she seemed so sincere that he had to believe her and let her go on her way. '190, hell,' he thought. 'Better make it 250, just to be on the safe side.'

&&&&

"Are you going to hold a staff meeting and tell everybody, Uncle Angel?" Alaric was looking lovingly at the weapons display, but his hands were carefully folded behind his back. Look but don't touch was a lesson he'd been slow to learn, but learn it he had. Just not before he'd acquired a five-inch scar on his leg.

Angel had given the possibility some very serious thought, so he did have an answer ready. "No," he replied. "Right now, the senior partners are still completely in the dark. I think I'd like to keep it that way. And what's going on with your parents now might illuminate them more than we'd care for."

"Uh-huh," Alaric agreed absently. "I don't know why we have to be here when we're not doing the rounds with the mail cart, though. We're at home alone every day now, and we haven't..,"

"Broken any windows lately?" Angel filled in, remind him why he and his sister were pushing the mail car in the first place.

Alaric had the good grace to look embarrassed. But it didn't last long, and it was easy to tell that his thoughts were going off in a completely different direction. "Uncle Angel, has Viv been talking to you lately?"

"You can't tell?" Funny, he'd thought the twins had gone back to mind-reading again, uncomfortable as it might be in some situations, it was a real time saver in others.

"We decided to save the telepathy thing for strangers and emergencies," the boy muttered. "And I'm just not sure if this is one yet. But she.., she shut part of her mind off from me." He tried to come off sounding indignant, and he certainly was, but it was not the predominant emotion as evident by the hint of tears in his voice. He'd noticed what Ariel had blithely assumed he hadn't, and it hurt.

"She what? How? Do your parents know?" The questions burst out of Angel in a rush and he was glad that he was already sitting.

Alaric came over and perched on a corner of the desk. "She shut part of her mind off from me," he repeated, ticking the answers off on his fingers. "I don't know, and no."

"Okay, when did it happen?" Angel was almost as shocked by it as his godson. He'd never seen two people as close to each other as the twins. Only their parents came close.

"Last week," Alaric answered. "It was right after that package was delivered to her."

"What package? What was in it? Who sent it?" Something about this was starting to raise the hairs on the back of Angel's neck.

Alaric shrugged. "Dunno. Soon's she got it, she locked herself in her room and locked me out of her mind."

"And you didn't get anything before she did?" Angel was a little surprised, considering the everlasting curiosity both of the kids had.

His godson made a face. "I got a little distracted. I'd asked her to get me a cuppa, since she was up, and it wasn't until I took a big gulp that I realized she'd given it to me straight from the fridge."

Angel sighed, although he had to fight back a grin. Ariel was a very sweet girl. Until you crossed her. Evidently her brother had been getting on her nerves. "And I suppose you didn't tell your parents because you didn't want to be a snitch?" he asked.

"Partly." Alaric looked a little guilty. "But I was kind of distracted then, too. Like wondering if Dad was actually going to kill us when he got home."

"The day you guys broke the window," Angel stated with conviction. "Well, when it's your shift, and I have Ariel here, I'll see if I can get some answers from her. I've got a weird feeling about this."

"Oh, Uncle Angel?" Alaric was looking even more uncomfortable than ever. "Maybe I shouldn't say this, but before Viv shut me out, there were places in her mind that I kind of wasn't going on purpose. I don't know if this fits in with anything, but she thinks she's in love with someone."

&&&&&

Rose heaved a metaphysical sigh of relief. That had been too close for comfort. The woman she'd just silenced had been emitting billows of black smoke by the time she'd reached her.

Since she was nearby, she decided to peek in on Angel and see how he was doing.

When she drifted into the CEO's office, she saw Angel, pacing up and down, looking both uncomfortable and distracted. Over by the window was Ariel, looking out, as Rose herself had done on more than one occasion. Usually when she was troubled about something. And there was something about the attitudes of both the room's occupants that suggested all was not well.

Rose did a lightning-fast reconnoiter of 'her' area, saw that all was well, at the moment, and decided to stick around to take in the conversation.

"Listen, honey, if you like, I can have Lindsey transferred to another branch of the firm." Angel made the offer because he loved his goddaughter and her well-being was more important to him than his desire to keep an eye on the wily Texan.

"No, thank you, Uncle Angel." Was Rose imagining things, or had her daughter put some uncalled for emphasis on the word uncle? "A person can't help their feelings, can they?"

"Well, I guess not," Angel admitted reluctantly. He really didn't like Lindsey, and didn't much care to cut him any slack, even when the injured party didn't seem to be actually injured in any way. But he looked puzzled, as well. He'd heard the mocking over-emphasis too.

Ariel turned from the window and summoned up a faint smile. "Lindsey is my friend," she stated softly. "I don't want you to send him away just because he was silly enough to fall in love with me."

Angel was slightly relieved, but still confused. He had a strong feeling that his beloved niece wasn't telling him everything. And he couldn't think of a tactful way to bring up what was on his mind. "Why have you blocked your brother out of your thoughts?" he demanded abruptly, wincing slightly at just how bluntly it came out.

Ariel looked stricken. "He knows?" she asked in horrified tones. "I didn't think he knew."

"He knows," Angel replied, a little grimly. "And even though he won't tell you, it's really hurt his feeling that you would shut him out." He hated doing this to her, but something was going on here, and he loved Alaric every bit as much as he did Ariel. "He said it started with some mysterious package that was delivered to you."

"Mysterious?" Ariel's confusion factor had just been squared, possibly cubed. Shouldn't Angel know about the package? It had come from him, after all. And if it hadn't, who would have sent it? And why would they want her to think that it had come from Angel?

"Ariel?" Angel prompted. Her reaction to mention of the package added fuel to his suspicions.

"I..," Ariel began, but anything else she may have had to say ended up in a frightened squeal as three man-sized creatures with caricatures of human faces entered the room. Something about their bearing suggested that they were not here to have a friendly chat.

Rose would have been biting her nails if she'd been wearing them. She'd read Giles' report to the council about the goings-on in Sunnydale during Sweet's reign of.., music. She knew what these creatures were, and how deceptive their clownishly innocent appearance was. To further add to her consternation, she was severely limited in what she could do. She and Spike had only been allowed the power to silence the singing, so there was literally nothing she could do but watch as the puppet men knocked both Angel and Ariel (who had waded right into the thick of the fighting with almost as much alacrity if less skill than her father), unconscious. They then proceeded to carry Ariel away.

Rose thought she knew where her daughter was being taken, and even suspected why, but she couldn't immediately go to follow up on her hunch because just then she felt the metaphysical tug that indicated that her presence, such as it was, was needed elsewhere.


	8. Full Rest

59

Full Rest

Angel was groggily getting to his feet when Corinna came in.

"I called the others," she informed him quietly. She seemed to be going to some effort to keep her face in profile.

Ignoring his own bruises and lacerations, Angel was at her side at top vampire speed.

The whole side of the spider-woman's face was purpled and swollen.

"You go straight to medical, Angel ordered softly.

"I'm fine, really," Corinna protested feebly.

"No, you're not," he contradicted her. "If nothing else, that needs to be x-rayed in case there are broken bones." As she opened her mouth to argue, he added, "If you don't go willingly, I'll pick you up and carry you there."

Corinna's mouth opened and closed soundlessly a few times. Finally, she found her voice again. "Yes, sir," she agreed meekly, and left.

She'd scarcely gone when the others started pouring in.

"Why didn't Corinna turn into a spider and stop them?" Alaric demanded angrily, before Angel could fill the rest in on the current events. "And where is she, anyway?"

"She's in medical," Angel answered evenly, trying to calm the boy down. "I think they took her by surprise. I know they did me."

"Do you suppose you could bring us non-mind readers up to speed?" Gunn suggested.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alaric nearly shouted, far from mollified. "That demon has my sister."

&&&&&

'Keeping people from singing is one thing, babe,' Spike ventured as he and Rose made their way to Sweet's base of operations. 'But for something like this, I think I'm really gonna need my body.'

'You weren't able to defeat them before,' Rose pointed out. Her tones were neither condemnatory nor complaining, just a simple statement of fact.

'Yeah, but I didn't have a whole, well-armed team backing me up, either,' Spike protested. Aside from feeling that he had a score to settle with Sweet and his minions, there was something else far more important than his pride involved now. His little girl.

'Do you happen to know what sort of weapons they might be vulnerable to?' Rose queried. Even without a face, she seemed considering, pensive.

'Slayer gave them a pretty good run for their money,' Spike grumbled. 'And with nothing but a pool cue, if memory serves.'

'Darling, we've been detached from our bodies for a very good reason,' Rose replied. 'Whether or not Sweet has Ariel, and believe me, I'm just as appalled as you are about that, those reasons haven't changed.'

'But..,' Spike sputtered helplessly. He heaved a mental sigh. Until the Powers That Be decided to put them back in their bodies, there really wasn't anything they could do about it. Didn't mean that he had to like it, though.

'Besides,' Rose added thoughtfully. 'I think there's something else we have to investigate.'

'What's that, luv?' Spike inquired. There didn't seem to be much that was all that important to him when one of his family was in harm's way.

'Why Ariel?' Rose replied.

&&&&&

"Oh, my aching head," Ariel moaned, one hand clapped to the aforementioned body part. Sweet's minions had finally had to render her unconscious in order to make any progress in getting her back to their master.

Ariel sat up stiffly, and slowly opened her eyes, half afraid of what she would see. But what she did see made those eyes pop open wide, and she propelled herself across the room in the space of an eyeblink.

"Uncle Lorne." She knelt beside the chair he was bound to, wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into him.

"I'd like to say that it's nice to see you, moppet," Lorne remarked. "But under the circumstances, I kind of wish you weren't here."

"How touching," Sweet said mockingly. "I don't suppose I could count on you to try to make my bride-to-be see sense, could I?"

Both Lorne and Ariel glared at him.

&&&&&

"I'd say that this would indicate that the kid gloves come off now," Wesley remarked. He turned to the still-agitated youth. "Alaric, can you locate your sister?"

Alaric's eyes glazed over for a moment, then he shook his head. "I can, but we've been told not to tell," he grumbled.

"Who told you guys that?" Fred inquired.

Alaric stared at his feet. He didn't think he should tell who the directive had come from, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his beloved aunt. He looked at up at Angel helplessly.

"I think it's okay, Alaric," Angel said in reply to the unspoken question. "It's not like they don't know or can't guess most of it anyway."

"Spike and Rose!" Gunn burst out suddenly. "They're doing some kind of out-of-body thing, aren't they?"

Wes looked sheepish, as if embarrassed that he hadn't thought of it first. "Of course," he muttered, half to himself. "And it would explain why no one has died since they slipped into that coma."

"Working way under cover," Fred added. She turned and gave Angel and Alaric a hard look. "And how long have you guys known?"

"The first night," Alaric admitted. "I don't think they would have let even us know if we hadn't been so worried."

"Not to mention the guilt trip you and your sister were on," Gunn put in. "Did they say why they didn't want us to know where Ariel and Lorne are?"

"If it were me," Wesley mused. "I'd be gathering intelligence. Which could be a bit difficult if the cavalry came riding to the rescue somewhat precipitately."

"Sorry it took me so long to get here." Lindsey ambled into the office. He checked the assembled out, and did a double take, a frown taking root. "Where's Ariel?"

"Sweet has her," Gunn replied shortly. He still didn't much like Lindsey, and certainly didn't trust him, but you had to give the guy some credit for brains. And, evidently for caring about Ariel. Maybe Rose saw something in the guy that their prior experiences with him blinded them to.

"So why are we standing here flapping our gums instead of trying to get her back?" Lindsey demanded. He was easily as agitated as Alaric now, maybe more so. Alaric had had time to cool down.

"How about because we don't know where to look?" Angel snapped. He wasn't sure that they should share about Spike and Rose's current condition with Lindsey, who he still considered to be on the other side, despite the Texan's apparent devotion to his goddaughter.

"Don't give me that crap," Lindsey snapped back. "Are you trying to tell me that someone she's been telepathically linked to since conception can't find her?" He was looking at Alaric appraisingly.

"There are.., certain circumstances to consider," Wesley inserted, wishing he could be a little more specific without being more specific. It certainly did sound lame.

Lindsey turned to give Angel a long stare. "You either need to trust me and put me in the loop, or give me that transfer," he said. "I've been a good boy for seven years now. It's time to either start trusting me, or cut me loose. But do you honestly think that I'd do anything that would put Ariel or any of her family in danger?"

There was a long silence. Even Lindsey's biggest critics, most of whom were in the room, actually couldn't imagine him causing Ariel any harm. But still, the silence went on, while most of them were trying to think of a way not to tell the lawyer what he wanted to know and still be able to live with the decision.

"Oh, let's just tell him," Alaric growled. "Even if he is lying, he'd be stupid to double-cross us. Not with at least three vampires ready to tear his throat out if he screws us."

Lindsey flung himself into a seat, waiting to be filled in. He looked at the faces of those assembled and still saw more suspicion that anything. "Can't you just feel the love?" he asked sarcastically.

&&&&&

Ariel was strapped into a chair in the same fashion as Lorne, once she had made it eminently clear that she had no intention of being a model prisoner. It went without saying that she refused to consider herself and honored guest.

Spike was fuming.

'He's got her tied up!'

'He's hardly likely to just let her walk away, darling,' Rose replied sensibly. 'Since he's somehow chosen Ariel to be his bride, he obviously doesn't want her to go anywhere.'

'Ariel knows better than to cast that, or any other spell,' Spike grumbled on the mental frequency.

'And she certainly knows better than to accept gifts from strangers,' Rose added, making an oblique reference to Sweet's amulet. 'But she could have been tricked into it, love. For all that they're very advanced in some things, the children have lived a fairly sheltered existence.'

'She's supposed to scope out people she don't know,' Spike went on. 'So how could someone be putting something over on her?'

'Since we don't know exactly who it was that actually maneuvered Ariel into accepting the necklace, we don't know why she didn't pick up on the fact that she was being manipulated.' Rose was forcing herself to be reasonable, just to try to keep Spike's temper in check.

'Wouldn't be surprised if that McDonald git had something to do with it.' Spike was not letting go.

Rose was starting to see something, at least, a little bit. 'You've shared her with other men since she was born. Why are you acting jealous all of a sudden? Or at all?'

Spike was starting to get that helpless feeling again, and it didn't have anything at all to do with not currently having access to his body.

'If you think I'm jealous of that half-pint lawyer..,' His attention was diverted away from his theme, though, as Sweet activated the crystal ball/spy scope.

&&&&&

"Ariel should have known better than to accept that amulet," Wesley fumed, sounding remarkably like Spike. "She practically cut her teeth on demonology. She knows what accepting gifts from strangers can lead to. Especially around here."

"So maybe they made her think it wasn't from a stranger," Corinna suggested. She hadn't been gone long, and the oversized white bandage called more attention to her injury than it would have had it been left alone.

Angel looked at his godson. "Are you sure you don't have any idea who Ariel has a crush on?" he asked desperately.

Alaric went pale pink, as close as either of the twins could come to a blush nowadays. "I'm not sure," he mumbled. "I didn't want to know almost as much as she didn't want me to."

"Isn't it obvious?" Fred broke in. The males all looked questioningly at her, but the look she shared with Corinna was one of feminine understanding. "I mean, how many of us have fallen for the tall, dark, dashing, broody hero?"

Angel sat down with a thump and buried his face in his hands, while Gunn and Wes exchanged glances that suggested that they were both relieved and chagrined that it wasn't them.

Lindsey looked at Alaric and nodded unhappily, but with certainty.

"You knew?" Gunn asked accusingly. "She told you and not one of us?" He was starting to feel really miffed now, and like Angel, would be all too happy to take it out on Lindsey.

Angel was also looking at the Texan now, but his expression was unfathomable. "When you were singing to her," he stated flatly. "You told her you loved her, and she must have told you..,"

"Let's just be friends because I'm in love with someone else," Lindsey finished with a bitter laugh. "I'm no rocket-scientist like Fred here, but I could figure it out."

"Back on subject," Wesley broke in, hopefully before things got too hostile. "She accepted the amulet because she thought it came from someone she trusted. But who made the delivery, that she trusted them?"

"One of those guys in the brown uniforms," Alaric supplied. "I could see that much from the sofa."

"So why didn't she read his mind?" Lindsey asked what they were all thinking. "I doubt very much that he was the real deal."

"We haven't been going too deep with strangers," Alaric explained. "Usually, if they're up to something, it's right there on the surface."

"But the partners would have let Sweet know that you two could read minds," Angel remarked.

"And therefore, they could have prepared their delivery man to pass the telepathic scrutiny of either one of you," Wesley added.

"If it wasn't a real delivery man," Alaric said so quietly that everyone started getting a sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs even before he finished. "Then I wonder just what it was that he had my sister sign."

&&&&&

Rose and Spike watched over Sweet's shoulder as he activated the crystal ball.

'So that's how he kept tabs on everything that was going on,' Spike observed.

'He probably knows when someone starts singing under his influence,' Rose added. 'This would allow him to observe his progress without coming into the open.'

'Nobody's singing there now,' Spike remarked. 'Looks like a high-level meeting in the ponce's office.'

Rose's mental sigh was nearly audible. 'Darling, must you?' she chided gently. 'I'm sure the meeting must have to do with Ariel's abduction.'

'Shouldn't one of us be listening there?' Spike suggested. Somehow, without him even mentioning it, Rose felt that he was not volunteering to be the one to go.

'I really don't like the thought of leaving Ariel,' she confessed.

'Neither do I, babe,' Spike answered, dashing Rose's hopes that he would take the hint and be noble about it. 'They might figure out what we're not hearing.'

'I don't suppose either of you even thought about just asking me?' a new voice broke in. Spike and Rose, of course, immediately recognized it as their beloved daughter.


	9. Which Way to the Rescue?

65

Which Way to the Rescue?

Even on a mental plane, their chagrin was evident. 'Thought maybe you might be too embarrassed to tell us, baby girl,' Spike finally answered.

'I am.' Even telepathically, there was a rueful note to Ariel's reply. 'But I haven't heard of anyone dying of it yet. I thought the pendant was from.., well.., from Uncle Angel.'

Rose, with her broader experience of being disembodied, was able to stifle Spike, before he could burst out with something that would, metaphorically, at least, put his foot in his mouth.

'That's not the worst of it, though,' Ariel practically wailed mentally. 'When I thought I was signing for the package, I actually signed a contract that said I agreed to be Sweet's bride.' The panic levels rose. 'I don't really have to, do I?'

'No, you do not.' Spike's mental 'voice' was firm and sure. 'And they'd have to go through me to try to make it stick.'

&&&&&

Alaric, looking so much like Spike that it was downright eerie, strode over to Angel's weapon's cabinet and flung the door open and looked at the items contained therein appraisingly.

Gunn's face lit up. "It's on now?" he asked eagerly. He moved to join Alaric.

"Wait a moment," Wesley cautioned. "What's changed?"

Alaric was just starting to reach for the claymore when Angel's hand came down on his wrist and stopped him. "Wait just a minute there, sport," he told his godson. "I want to hear exactly what you parents said before we go charging in. And by the way, 'we' does not include you."

Alaric started to look positively thunderous, but before the outburst could come, Corinna sauntered over to him, wrapped her hands around his arm and whispered something in his ear, and he subsided immediately.

"Well?" Fred prompted. She was itching to get moving too.

Alaric looked a little sheepish, but whether it was for not filling everyone in or what the spider-woman had whispered in his ear was anyone's guess. "She did think the amulet came from Uncle Angel," he admitted, drawing a pained wince from the person in question. "And mum especially wants you there, Uncle Charles. The paper Ariel signed was a contract that said she agreed to be the demon's bride. She wants to know if it's legally binding or not."

"I don't give a good damn if it is," Lindsey growled, joining the growing group perusing the weapons. "Ariel is not marrying that jerk."

"I think we're all agreed on that," Wesley remarked mildly. "But where are they, Alaric?"

&&&&&

'C'mon, babe,' Spike urged Rose's dawdling incorporeal form. 'If we don't hurry, we're gonna miss everything. And I, for one, don't want to miss a moment of it.'

'I'm coming.' Rose still seemed reluctant, and Spike knew why. Disembodied, she could at least be there and observe. But despite becoming fairly proficient at one on one fighting, Spike still drew the line at her getting into situations like this one was going to be, which rendered his 'we' a little hypocritical. Rose had argued with him on the subject a few times, but he'd always managed to get her to see things his way. So far.

&&&&&&

"Why are we going to medical?" Lindsey asked, trying to hide his irritation.

"Because that's where Rose and Spike told us to go," Fred replied absently. "I don't think we're going to get any further instructions until we get there."

"Why are we bringing that?" Angel indicated the claymore Alaric was toting along with a nod of his head, although he already had a sneaking suspicion why. "I'm pretty sure it's already been stipulated that you aren't fighting."

Gunn rolled his eyes. "You know how much Spike loves that sword," he remarked. "My hunch is that the undercover part of the assignment is over."

"You really ought to just give it to him," Wesley commented. "Spike is about the only person that's used that claymore since before the twins were born."

"Yeah, when he rescued Mum from that dog-demon," Alaric added. It had been one of the twins' favorite bedtime stories when they were small. And any other time that Spike had come to the rescue. And possibly a few times that he hadn't, but he had a knack of making it seem like he had, and the twins hadn't called him to account on his creative storytelling.

"Great," Angel grumbled, although, in truth, he was glad that Spike was going to be there. "But shouldn't someone be guarding Rose?" Most of them shared Spike's views on protecting Rose. To one degree or another.

"I am, that's why the claymore is for me," Alaric replied, puffing out his chest a bit. It wasn't like being in on the real fighting, but it was something.

&&&&&&

Sweet was starting to show signs of agitation. It wasn't just a matter of not being able to collect his fee if he couldn't deliver the required information, but the fact that anyone who ever let the senior partners down usually only did so once. The partners weren't big believers in second chances. Or even letting you live long enough to learn from your mistakes.

When he glanced in his crystal ball again, he saw even more cause for consternation, the fang gang, equipping themselves with various lethal-looking devices. Then, he looked over to his guests, the younger of whom was looking awfully smug, considering her previous displeasure with the situation.

Sweet considered the both of them. He had, he suspected, already hit a home run where Lorne was concerned, but had somehow been prevented from scoring with it. He doubted if that would change. While he didn't particularly care for the idea of endangering his bride-to-be, it looked like it was going to be her or him, and since demons aren't particularly renowned for their finer feelings.., He began singing.

"Sorry, sweet thing for what I have to do

But the choice has come down to me or you

I'm really not feeling funny or jokey

'Cause the cavalry's armed for bear and thinks I'm Smokey

Please, sugar-pie, just give me a tune

Then we can be off on our honeymoon."

Ariel glared at him, but her gaze turned to Lorne and became panicked as she felt the compulsion to sing begin to grow.

&&&&&

"Bloody hell." Spike's voice wafted out of medical as Angel, et. al. approached. "You mind not taking the skin along with the electrodes, Doc? I'm kind of attached to it."

"I can do it fast, or leave the skin, Mr. Powers," a relatively calm voice replied. "I can't do both, and you insisted that you were in a hurry."

They entered just in time to see the doctor jerk another electrode off Spike, eliciting a yelp. At the other bed, a nurse was removing the electrodes from Rose with much more care.

"Quit whining, Spike," Angel instructed him. "You'll grow the skin back before you've had time to miss it. And if you don't hurry up, we'll leave you behind."

"Like fun you will," Spike replied, drawing on his pants before happily ridding himself of the ridiculous hospital gown. "Party ain't starting without me, seeing as how you don't know where to go."

Alaric and his father exchanged glances, then the boy went to Rose's bedside, leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Glad to have you back, Mum."

Rose started to smile warmly, then it faded away only half-way there, as the claymore's presence registered. "Alaric, darling, you don't think you're going to..,"

"'Course he isn't, babe." Spike displaced his son to give Rose a quick, yet somehow lingering kiss. "He's here to guard you, just in case some git gets funny ideas." He turned back to Alaric. "You up for it, my son?" He gave Alaric a clap on the back that sent him staggering forward a few paces.

"You bet, Dad." At least he wasn't being treated quite like a little kid now.

"That's my boy." Spike beamed, then looked at the assembled crew. "I sincerely hope that one of you thought to bring something along for me to fight with?"

"We were more than half-way here before Alaric told us that he was going to have the claymore," Wesley mumbled. "We thought it was for you. It is what you always want to use."

"And put dents in the blade," Angel couldn't resist adding.

"Dad, I probably won't really need it," Alaric said reluctantly. He had really liked the thought of being entrusted with a weapon, even if the odds were against him getting to use it. "You go ahead and take it."

"Nothing doing," Spike replied firmly. "C'mon, you lot. Surely someone brought more than one." He looked pointedly at Angel, who sighed and amazingly enough, produced a cestus. "Something for up close and personal, well, all to the good, because as far as I'm concerned, it is personal, very personal." Spike fitted the lethal-looking glove on his hand and they set off.

&&&&

The chairs Ariel and Lorne were bound to were sitting fairly close together. A desperate Ariel tugged at her bonds and wriggled until her fingers made contact with the empath's. Lorne worked a little wiggle room in his ropes too, to grasp her hand more firmly.

'He's obviously concentrating on me, Uncle Lorne.' Even telepathically, Lorne could 'hear' the strain from the effort Ariel was putting forth to resist the compulsion to sing. 'So he won't be putting any pressure on you, so maybe you could..,'

'Lend you some strength, moral support or whatever?' Lorne broke in. 'More than happy to, Lambkin.'

Sweet didn't see their actions, or even guess at the mental communication. His will may well have been directed at Ariel, but his eyes were on the crystal ball, watching a troop of well-armed people heading his way, with Spike in the lead.

&&&&&&

"So, what's the plan?" Angel asked Spike. He already had his suspicions on that score. "You do have a plan, don't you?"

"Go in, kick ass, and get my little girl," Spike replied promptly, and as if he were speaking to a moron. "And Lorne too," he amended.

"Great plan," Gunn remarked sarcastically. "What if Mr. Song and Dance decides to use Ariel and Lorne as hostages?"

Lindsey had been trying to be inconspicuous, but he almost walked right up Spike's back as Spike immediately and unexpectedly put the brakes on.

"You don't have a plan," Wesley commented wearily, passing a hand over his eyes.

"For Spike, that is a plan," Angel shot back, much more sarcastically than Gunn. "Anybody else have anything even remotely resembling a plan?"

"Send in one of the most harmless-looking people we've got, ostensibly to negotiate," Lindsey put in immediately. "Like say, Corinna there. I think she might be able to lull our demon into a false sense of security."

"Then I turn into a spider?" Corinna guessed.

"Try to make sure that you're between our people and theirs before you make the change, Corinna," Angel directed.

"Can they be poisoned?" Corinna asked thoughtfully.

"We don't really have any information there," Wesley answered apologetically.

"You could always give it a try," Fred suggested. "Then get out of the way real quick, just in case it doesn't work."

"But don't you be biting the boss demon," Spike ordered. "He's mine."

"Spike," Angel exclaimed in exasperation. "You couldn't even take out one of his flunkies the last time you came up against him. What makes you think you can take on Sweet?"

"I wasn't ready for him that time," Spike protested sulkily. "This time I am." He made a fist with the hand wearing the cestus, letting the light glint off the sharp metal pieces.

"Corinna," Angel said, as if Spike had not even spoken. "If you get a chance to bite Sweet, go for it."

"Yes, sir," Corinna replied demurely. She looked at Spike, who was a picture of frustration. "I do have a stake in this too, you know. Lorne and I are supposed to have a date tonight."

&&&&&&

"Are you decent yet, Mum?" Alaric had had to turn his back while Rose dressed, but she did seem to be taking a long time at it.

When no answer was immediately forthcoming, he tried again. "Mum?"

Alaric hadn't realized there was a second door to the room, the rolling room divider had been pushed in front of it. He saw it now, as he turned, just in time to see one of Sweet's underlings drag Rose thought it, hand clapped over her mouth.

&&&&&&&

Despite Lorne's help, Ariel felt her mental barriers begin to crumble, and just as she was about to burst into song, the compulsion just.., went away.

She had been staring at the floor in concentration, but now, in her surprise, she looked up.

Just in time to see Sweet disappear through the door.

&&&&

There was a brief, shocked silence as they rounded the corner into the hallway leading to Sweet's current hideaway.

To see Sweet himself, calm and casual, leaning against a door. The door, Spike thought, and he was about to charge in regardless, when Angel's hand came down on his arm and gripped it with a nearly bone-breaking grasp.

"Don't try anything yet, Spike," Angel cautioned softly. "He wouldn't be looking so relaxed if he didn't have an ace in the hole."

Despite Angel's quiet tones, the demon heard him. "That's right," he agreed. "And my ace is the lady that's caused all the commotion." He laughed shortly, then sang. "Whenever it seems that you're up a creek, the right hostage should do the trick."

&&&&&&

Alaric was stunned motionless by the unexpected audacity of the move. Then, he gathered his wits about him and pursued.

They were already out of sight by the time he reached the corridor, but Alaric had a vampire's keen senses, and one scent he was very familiar with was his mother's. Funny, that weird puppet-looking guy didn't seem to have a scent. Alaric pondered it a moment while still moving, then shrugged it off. Whether her abductor had a scent or not was immaterial, and Rose's scent was all he needed.

Around a corner, and there they were. Rose was struggling for all she was worth, but while she was slim, trim and in good shape, she really wasn't very muscular, and Alaric knew from his father's account that the things were a lot stronger than they looked.

He was betting on the claymore, and so, he raised it over his head and rushed the retreating pair with an inarticulate howl.

&&&&&

There was but a single sentry left with Lorne and Ariel.

Ever since Sweet's departure, Lorne had noticed that the ropes that bound his goddaughter were growing more slack by the minute. Lorne hoped that instead of following in her father's footsteps, Ariel actually had a plan.

'I know you're a lot stronger than you look, Muffin,' he thought at her. 'Do you think you can take him?'

There was a nearly audible mental sigh. ''Fraid, not, Uncle Lorne,' came the apologetic reply. 'But there are two of us and only one of him. Maybe we can out maneuver him.'


	10. Showdown

69

Showdown

Alaric halted as he reached his mother and her abductor. The mad rush had just been a ruse, an attempt to frighten or startle the puppet man into releasing Rose, but it hadn't worked. And when you came right down to it, a claymore wasn't a weapon you could use with a great deal of precision. Alaric knew he couldn't just go charging in and bring the blade down, he'd be just as likely to slice his own mother in half as he would to do any damage to the puppet.

The creature was moving at a steady pace, despite Rose's efforts to hamper it, but it really wasn't going all that fast. It gave Alaric an idea. He overtook the pair and got a few yards ahead. He adjusted his grip on the sword's hilt and said, "When I give the word, Mum, jump just as high as you can."

As the two of them neared him, Alaric yelled, "Jump, Mum." And, as Rose jumped as high as the restraining hands on her arm would allow, Alaric swung the sword at the puppet man's ankles.

Only to have it rebound back so violently that he was thrown back into the wall behind him, hitting his head hard enough that it dazed him for a minute or two.

When his vision cleared, the puppet and his mother were both gone.

&&&&&&

"You know," Angel opened conversationally. "If I was trying to cover my ass by claiming that I had a hostage, I think I'd be producing some proof that I have that hostage."

"You mean like that?" Sweet gestured towards the far end of the corridor where the puppet man was dragging Rose, still struggling, gamely if futilely.

Almost as if by reflex, Angel's arm shot out in front of Spike, to keep him from charging in headlong before thinking.

Surprisingly, Spike put up no resistance. But every muscle of his body was taut, and poised for action. "You okay, babe?" he queried in reasonably normal tones. "And where's Alaric?"

"I'm fine," Rose panted, still trying to break away from the puppet man's iron grip. "Alaric is somewhere behind us. Darling, he really tried..,"

"I know, sweetheart," Spike interrupted. He didn't blame his son for his mother's latest abduction, but himself. He'd given Alaric the guard job as a means of keeping him out of harm's way. It had never occurred to him that Sweet would grab Rose. After all, he already had two hostages.

"Stop it, Spike," Angel ordered softly. He could see that Spike was mentally kicking himself for not expecting the unexpected. Well, come to that, so was he, but they didn't have time for that.

Gunn stepped in to fill in the awkward gap. "If you wouldn't mind," he began, as Lindsey stepped up beside him. "Us lawyers would kind of like to have a look at that contract that Ariel allegedly signed."

Lindsey gave a derisive snort. There was really no doubt that Ariel had signed the thing, even if she had been misled. But it never hurt to check for loopholes. There were almost always loopholes.

"Knock yourselves out," Sweet invited indulgently, extracting the paper from his jacket and tossing it to them.

Lindsey snatched the paper out of the air impatiently, and he and Gunn moved off to one side, standing shoulder to shoulder, studying the document intently.

Sweet folded his arms across his chest, leaned back against the door and looked so smug that everyone, even Rose, far down the corridor, wanted to smack the look right off his face.

&&&&&

Ariel's bonds sagged like an overloaded clothesline. She knew she could get up out of the chair any time now. But she still hadn't figured out how to untie Lorne without their guard seeing and interfering. She glanced over at her uncle for inspiration.

And was shocked beyond measure to see Lorne's ropes hanging as limply as hers. She just barely managed to keep her jaw from falling open, lest it tip off their keeper.

'Uncle Lorne, why didn't you..?' Ariel began thinking at him.

'And do what, Sweetpea?' Lorne broke in. 'I'm a lover, not a fighter. It wouldn't have done any good.'

Ariel just nodded. It occurred to her that just because he wasn't a fighter that they all often underestimated her empathic green uncle.

'You got a plan, Babycakes?' Lorne inquired.

Ariel had been working on that. 'I don't think these guys are too smart, Uncle Lorne,' she replied. 'Just muscle. If we started singing, I'd bet he wouldn't know the difference between a regular song and what people have been singing under Sweet's influence.'

'But if he gets his boss, we'll have two of them to deal with instead of one,' Lorne protested.

'Not if he doesn't get past the door,' Ariel answered with overtones of smugness. 'The minute he turns around, you hit him high, and I'll hit him low.'

'You know how strong these guys are,' Lorne cautioned.

'And we're not planning on fighting with him, Uncle Lorne,' Ariel explained. 'We just want to knock him off balance. Literally.'

Lorne suppressed a grin. It just might work.

&&&&&&&

"Sweet has yet to deliver on his contract," the Ram observed.

"If you will recall, we did not set a time limit on him," the Wolf rejoined.

"His base of operations has been discovered now," the Hart muttered. "It puts him at a distinct disadvantage."

"Perhaps the pressure will bring out his best work," the Wolf remarked sarcastically.

"If he cannot deliver, then he has no claim on the vampire girl," the Ram added. "We may have been a bit hasty in promising her to him anyway."

The Hart shook its head. "I do not believe so. I had a clause inserted into the contract that requires Sweet to give us periodic reports on her."

The Ram chuckled, but nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, the unprecedented event of the birth of vampires, with souls, yet, is no small thing. The meddling Powers themselves must have had a hand in it. Monitoring the subjects is definitely indicated."

"Rose.., Powers," the Wolf murmured reflectively.

"What are you suggesting?" asked the Hart, shocked.

"Just a passing thought," the Wolf replied. "Perhaps The Powers That Be named her thus because she is one of their instruments."

"Perhaps," the Ram agreed reluctantly. But it still didn't seem quite right.

&&&&&

Alaric had followed his mother's scent once again. Now, it was so strong, he knew he had nearly caught up to her. But his ears picked up a babble of voices as well. He rounded the corner and saw everyone ranged around in various stages of belligerence.

"Oh, bloody hell," he blurted out. Not only did he just screw up his first real adult responsibility, but now, everyone knew.

"Alaric, please watch your language," Rose admonished automatically.

Before anyone else could respond to Alaric's arrival, Gunn and Lindsey broke out in a loud argument.

"She's a minor," Gunn stated firmly. "She can't sign a legally binding contract. She's only thirteen."

"You know, this really shouldn't come as a shock to you, considering where you work, Chuckie boy," Lindsey shot back. "But there are a lot of dimensions where there is no 'legal age'. You're old enough for whatever you can do."

"But in this dimension," Gunn argued. "And more specifically, in this state, she is way under the age of consent. Not to mention which, she didn't know what she was signing."

"If you sign a contract," Lindsey pointed out. "You're agreeing to the terms in that contract. It doesn't matter if you've read them or not."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Gunn demanded. "It probably didn't occur to Ariel to read it because she didn't realize it was a contract."

"That argument would never hold up in court," Lindsey declared. "And you're overlooking the one point that could really stand in our favor."

"Which is?" Gunn inquired suspiciously.

"Good 'ol Sweet here hasn't delivered as promised," Lindsey drawled with a nasty grin. "And if there is one thing I can actually guarantee you about the senior partners, they don't pay up for services not rendered. He looked at Sweet. "I think you'd better hand over the girl, buddy boy. Because you haven't fulfilled your part of the contract yet."

&&&&&

'Think that's the song for the job?' Ariel was still a little dubious, not to mention getting extremely nervy, now that they were about to put her plan into action.

'Trust me, Lambkin,' came Lorne's reassuring reply. 'If there's one song that will send that guy running for his boss, that one ought to do the trick. Just back me up, doll.'

'Go for it, Uncle Lorne.'

It worked like the proverbial charm. Once the right words registered on the puppet man, he immediately turned towards the door.

Ariel had to check her speed, so that her attack coincided with Lorne's. They both hit it at the precise same moment, shoving the puppet man through the still closed door.

&&&&&

Sweet seemed undismayed by Lindsey's pronouncement. He just looked for a moment at the group ranged around him. Except for the two in the room behind him, he'd be willing to bet that just about everyone who knew what the partners were interested in were right here. "It's not over yet, no foul, no harm. To get what I want, I'll just turn on the charm," he sang.

People started fidgeting, and even looking downright uncomfortable as the compulsion to sing grew stronger. Just when it seemed they were all going to break into a grand production number, the door Sweet was leaning on splintered outward, with a puppet man, Ariel and Lorne piled on top of the demon.

In an eyeblink, Angel and Spike were retrieving their people from the pile. Now, all they had to worry about was getting Rose back and getting rid of Sweet and company. That, surely, was enough.

Sweet struggled back to his feet, making an effort to look calm and urbane, but his eyes blazed with irritation, or perhaps something more. "I may have underestimated you," he said quietly. "But I believe I still have an ace in the hole." He snapped his fingers and Rose's captor began dragging her towards him.

Alaric began getting that helpless feeling again. He knew the sword wouldn't dent the puppet. If only it were a real puppet, he thought, then he could just.., Wait, it couldn't be that easy, could it?

Without further thought, Alaric let out a war whoop and charged. He didn't have to give Rose instructions this time, the puppet man was taller than she was. He leapt, swung the sword in a graceful, sidelong arc over the puppet man's head.

It fell to the floor, motionless, while Alaric, still pumped full of adrenalin, swept his mother off her feet and triumphantly deposited her in his father's arms.

Spike was beaming brightly enough to light up a mine shaft. He squeezed Rose so tightly she let out a little yip. Then, his expression became serious as he turned his attention back to Sweet, after tucking Rose safely behind his back. He stared at the demon for an uncomfortably long moment, then looked rather fondly down at the cestus on his doubled up fist. It didn't take a rocket scientist to get the point.

"It would appear that you've lost your ace in the hole," Wesley commented.

Sweet gathered in his will. He knew he could vanish into thin air before they could hurt him, but as Lindsey had pointed out, he had yet to fulfill his end of his bargain with the partners. And when it came to the partners, well, there wasn't anywhere he could hide where they couldn't hurt him.

"Some people just don't learn," a new voice said conversationally from down the hall. The owner of the voice strode towards the group.

"Mind if I borrow that, kid?" she asked, removing the sword from Alaric's hands, and taking its weight as effortlessly as any of the vampires.

Angel was grinning broadly, and so was Wesley. Spike was smirking obnoxiously. Rose struggled to keep her features composed, but still got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Slayer!" Sweet hissed, and paled perceptibly.

&&&&&&&

Citrine: "Do they in fact really need the services of the Slayer?"

Viridian: "It can do no harm. And the Slayer has another purpose aside from the demon."

Sienna: "Yes, Rose has never quite gotten past the belief that William would gladly set her aside for the Slayer."

Violet: "Is it healthy for her to feel so after all the years she has spent with William?"

Cerulean: "Not healthy, certainly. However, it is very human. But it is time for Rose to be cured of this notion."

Sienna: "I thought we were going to eschew all interference in Rose's human existence, and yet, we persist. Why?"

Citrine: "Because she is part of us. Always. Just as William will become part of us when they end their mortal existence."

Violet: "It isn't as though we were actually breaking any rules."

Cerulean: "There are rules?"


	11. Change of Tempo

72

Change of Tempo

"I'm flattered," Buffy said insincerely. "After all the people you've victimized, and yet, you remember me. I'm touched, really."

Sweet laughed, a little nervously. "No, it's not every day I have both the Slayer and her charming little sister slip through my fingers," he replied. "Let's just say it was a memorable occasion."

"You lost," Buffy pointed out, even though Sweet had just alluded to it. "And here you are again, trying out the same song and dance routine. What made you think it would work this time?"

"Because up until now, he had the senior partners backing his play." Eve appeared from the opposite direction Buffy had.

"Until now?" Sweet echoed weakly.

"Oh, there won't be any penalties, despite the way you've botched the job," Eve soothed. "But it occurred to the partners that they don't really require your services." Eve pulled out a piece of paper. "This is your employment contract, Ms. Powers. If you, or your lawyers..," She glanced at Gunn and Lindsey. ".., would care to go over it, you'll find in paragraph twenty-nine, section three, sub-section b, a full disclosure of information clause."

Gunn snatched the paper away from her and found the pertinent clause. He read it once, then again, the handed it to Lindsey, who did likewise.

"Well?" Angel demanded impatiently. Inwardly, he wondered how that clause could have been there all this time and no one, not even the partners had thought of it until just now.

"That's what it says," Lindsey said apologetically, as though it were his fault. "The clause requires the employee/signer to disclose all personal information prior to employment at Wolfram and Hart on demand."

Gunn gave Eve a nasty look. "I suppose the partners are demanding now, aren't they?"

"Why, as a matter of fact, they are," Eve answered sweetly.

The silence got awkward for a while. Fighting demons was one thing, but a signed contract that could be enforced in court was another.

"Lindsey," Rose's voice broke the silence so suddenly that nearly everyone jumped. "My employment contract doesn't specify how long I'm to remain working for Wolfram & Hart, does it?"

"No." Lindsey shook his head while flipping through papers. "Either you or the company are free to terminate your employment at any time. But I don't see how..,"

Rose held up a hand, and Lindsey fell silent. "And, I am assuming," she went on, "that that full disclosure clause becomes null and void if I am not longer in Wolfram & Hart's employ."

"Well, sure, that pretty much goes without saying," Gunn broke in. His face suddenly dropped as the idea sank in. Lindsey was turning a delicate shade of green at the thought of Ariel never being around again.

"Well, that makes it very simple then," Rose announced with a sigh. "Nothing personal, Liam, but I quit."

Eve's jaw dropped in shock. She didn't think the partners had anticipated this. She certainly hadn't.

Sweet was chuckling softly. He winked at Ariel, then Rose, did a slow, graceful spin, and vanished.

"Wither thou goest, babe," Spike chimed in, wrapping his arms around Rose from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I quit too."

The twins moved to flank their parents, turning it into a group hug. Then, Spike noticed that Buffy was looking at them with an unfathomable expression on her face. He gave her a questioning look while pulling Rose back against him even more tightly.

Buffy shook her head wonderingly. "I'd heard, of course," she murmured, half to herself. "But I never had any idea that it would look so.., right."

Eve ignored all of this, and was trying to regain some small modicum of dignity. "If you are both terminating your employment here, then I'm sure that you will realize that you may no longer be allowed to reside in the senior partner's suite."

"Doesn't matter," Spike responded, still cuddling Rose, those few days without a body had sharpened his never dull appreciation of physical contact with his beloved. "There's other places to live. Probably would have moved out ages ago, but it was just so damned convenient."

"Surely the partners will give them a little grace time?" Wesley suggested hopefully. "Time to allow them to find a new place and pack."

"I'd have to ask, of course," Eve replied, less than graciously. She suddenly stomped a dainty foot in frustration. "Why can't it ever be easy with you people?"

"It's just part of our charm, Eve," Angel replied, giving her a charmingly insincere smile.

Eve glared at everyone impartially, turned on her heel and stalked off.

&&&&&&

Sweet was neither surprised nor pleased, when he found himself re-materializing in the senior partner's domain rather than his own.

"I was told there would be no repercussions, since I was being released before my contract was up," he said coldly, but with just the barest hint of subservience. He didn't have the clout to get too cocky.

The Wolf nodded. "That is true," it agreed grudgingly. "Now, we wish to negotiate a new contract."

"Or perhaps it would be best to say negotiate for you to complete the contract that we terminated a little over-hastily," the Ram explained.

"Not a chance," Sweet demurred, now more afraid of failing the partners than refusing them. Not to mention the most recent complications in the situation. "You did notice that the Slayer had showed up, didn't you?"

"Surely you are not afraid of the Slayer," the Hart chided. "You nearly defeated her once before."

"And that peroxide platinum vampire got in the way," Sweet pointed out.

"If Spike is a problem, he can be eliminated," the Ram offered tentatively.

"No," Sweet answered quickly. He wasn't sure why, or where the idea had come from, but he just had a feeling that killing Spike would make things more difficult, not easier.

&&&&&&

The war party had devolved into a party in the more conventional sense, all met in Angel's apartment.

"I get the whole Slayer mystique.., sort of," Lorne was saying to Buffy. "But we've been in worse jams than this before. Why did you just happen to show up now?"

The aforementioned Slayer looked a trifle embarrassed. "Well, you see," she half-mumbled. "I kind of had this..,"

"Dream?" Angel interrupted. He remembered long debates about Buffy's prescient dreams.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, still looking sheepish. "But everything was pretty much over by the time I got here. I didn't really do anything. So why would I have a dream that made me feel like it was life or death for me to be here?"

"Maybe it didn't have anything to do with the demon," Fred suggested softly. She nodded her head across the room where Spike sat, narrating tales of his escapades with the Slayer, while Rose sat near him as always, her face an expressionless mask.

"She's jealous?" Buffy asked incredulously. Even after all her years as a human, Rose was still as youthful looking as ever, while Buffy knew that she was starting to show her years.

"I think it's a little more.., complicated than that." Fred drew Buffy away from the rest. Just between girls, as it were. "You see, Rose went through a phase where she thought she wasn't real. So I guess she figured that Spike would dump her, all evidence to the contrary, when some of the 'real' women from his past showed up."

"So she thinks I'm gong to take Spike away from her," Buffy murmured. "Never mind that Spike was a big mistake on my part. Or that he can't even see another woman for her."

"Exactly," Fred agreed. "Maybe The Powers sent you here because Rose need that issue cleared up, once and for all."

It seemed eminently propitious, somehow, that now was the moment that Rose chose to rise to her feet and disappear into the bathroom.

As Buffy walked towards Spike, who hadn't missed a beat in his narrative, even when Rose left, she considered her options, and decided to go with the direct approach. That was usually what worked best with Spike anyway. She grabbed one ear and yanked him unceremoniously to his feet and marched him to a private corner.

"Here now, Buffy, that was hardly called for, was it?" Spike grumbled, rubbing his reddening ear.

"Well, I could hardly stop to kick your ass in the middle of a party," she hissed back. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to your wife? Or do you just enjoy making her miserable?"

"What in hell are you talking about, Slayer?" Spike demanded. "I love Rose, and I seriously hope that you're not suggesting picking up where we left off after all these years...,"

"Get over yourself, Spike," Buffy advised. "All night long, all you've been doing is going on about 'Buffy and I this,' or 'there was the time the Slayer and I..,' and that poor girl has been looking ready to sink through the floor."

"Rose knows I love her," Spike replied with soft conviction. "She's my reason for being. The light of my life. She..,"

"Looks like someone just kicked her in the gut," Buffy interrupted.

And Rose, emerging from the bathroom, had indeed felt seized by some internal pain upon seeing the center of her universe in a private tête a tête with a woman she had never been able to think of in any other role than that of a rival. In typical Rose fashion, she decided it would be best all around if she just slipped away from the party quietly. She started sidling towards the door in what she thought was an unobtrusive manner.

She didn't get half-way across the room before she found herself swept up in Spike's arms.

"You just never will get it through your pretty mop that I love you," Spike murmured in affectionate severity. "Only you, babe. No one else." He bent down to kiss her.

&&&&&&

Comfortably back in his own dimension, if empty-handed, again, Sweet sat back with a look of intense concentration on his face, as if he were conducting a mental search. And so he was.

Finally, he seemed to find what he'd been looking for, and an evil smile spread across his features.

"Hey, little girl, the game's not over yet," he crooned softly. "You still wear my amulet."

&&&&&

"How can two people be kissing like that in the middle of a party, and no one notices?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Because that, my dear," Lorne answered, now almost at his jaunty best, with Corinna hanging on his arm. "Is Spike and Rose. If they feel like kissing, it's going to happen. No matter where they are. We've been around it so long, we don't really notice it much anymore."

"They have been disembodied for a while," Corinna pointed out, snuggling into the empath. "They're probably making up for lost time."

"Like they need a reason," Gunn chipped in. "If Rose wasn't so inhibited, they'd probably be doing the wild thing by now." He had kind of been trying not to hover too near Buffy, but the Slayer seemed to fascinate him. Only his uncertainty of how Angel might react, and more to the point, Buffy herself, kept him from making a move. But he kept a surreptitious eye on her.

&&&&&&

Across the room, Lindsey was seen to be involved in a very earnest conversation with Angel. Surprisingly enough, not only was Angel listening, but there was no hint of the aura of antagonism that usually hovered over the two of them. Curious, Wesley drifted over to see what was going on.

"They quit," Lindsey was saying. "Which renders their original contracts null and void."

"I got that," Angel replied with the slightest tinge of impatience. "That was the whole reason they quit. To void their contracts."

Lindsey's eyes were twinkling now. "So, suppose you hire them back? Working under new contracts made out to your specifications by your people."

Wes found himself actually clapping Lindsey on the back. "Well done," he approved. "It may have been the only way around that full-disclosure clause, but I really didn't want to lose Rose from my department."

"I don't think any of us wanted to lose either of them," Angel elaborated. He glanced at Lindsey, who was gazing forlornly in Ariel's direction. "Or the kids."

"Certainly, certainly," Wesley agreed. He looked at Lindsey too, and the raw, hopeless longing on his face was almost embarrassing. Without another word, he and Angel walked away.

&&&&&&

The party began breaking up soon after, the couples leaving first, with the first to go, of course, being Spike and Rose.

Gradually, they'd all drifted away until Angel was left alone with Buffy.

And found to his dismay, that he found the situation extremely awkward. Several years may have passed since the two of them had been an item, but there was still a lot of history there, and maybe a bit of chemistry as well. If she could just leave like everyone else had, it would be one thing, but after all the traveling she had done, simple courtesy demanded that he offer her a place to stay. Under his roof, but not in his arms.

It was damned awkward.


	12. Unfinished Business

77

Unfinished Business

Lindsey's car pulled out of the parking garage, but didn't go far. He stared up at the tiny lights shining down from the senior partner's suite. It was good that everything had been resolved without Spike and Rose having to leave, it was, he told himself. And Ariel. As he watched the lights wink out, he wondered if it was all to the good, for him. To keep waiting for her when she was hung up on Angel. Angel! To stay, knowing he'd never be able to be with her. Hell, he was old enough to be her father (that is, a man old enough to be her father, he thought wryly, not old enough to be Spike). But try as often as he might, he just couldn't root the charming, sassy, precocious young woman out of his heart and mind. Couldn't tear himself away from her. Couldn't stop hoping against hope that he would be the one.

&&&&&&

Ariel tossed restlessly in her bed. Everything seemed to be settled, except for her. The demon was gone, her mother's secret still a secret, as far as the senior partners were concerned, so why did she have this feeling something was still unresolved?

As she rolled over once more, an errant moon-beam glinted off the pendant that Ariel had never thought to remove. That she had worn so constantly over the past few days that it didn't even impinge on her consciousness. That everyone had forgotten about. Except Sweet.

And eventually, the last of the day's adrenalin surge wore off and she drifted off into a restless, fidgeting semblance of sleep.

"Just what I was waiting for," Sweet whispered to himself in the shadows of the shadows. Contract with the partners or no, he had one with the lovely Ariel. And he had been too long without a bride. Surprisingly powerful arms scooped her up and muffled her cries before they reached her lips, and in an instant, both Sweet and Ariel were gone.

&&&&&&

Lindsey still sat out in his car. It felt like he was waiting for something in particular, although he would have been the first to say that he had no idea just what he was waiting for. He blinked suddenly. Was that a brief flash of light in the partner's suite? And, if memory served, just about where Ariel's room was too.

He didn't wait to argue himself out of it, or look at the rational side of things. Rational usually didn't have a lot to do with the goings on at Wolfram & Hart anyway. He peeled out of his parking place across the street and back to the recently vacated parking garage. From there, and such was his urgency, that it never once struck him as incongruous, he headed straight to the main penthouse.

For Ariel, he'd swallow his pride and ask for Angel's help.

&&&&&&

The hour was late enough that Buffy and Angle had managed muttered good-nights and turned in before things went beyond awkward to painful.

Angel had been laying in his bed, trying not to toss and turn, but most decidedly not sleeping, when the furious pounding on his door startled him to his feet. As he exited his room, he saw Buffy coming from the spare bedroom, looking like a china doll in oversized men's pajamas.

"Never a dull moment, huh?" Buffy ventured. The tension between the two of them was so thick as to be nearly palpable.

"Not lately," Angel agreed. As the pounding on the door renewed, and became more frenzied, he yelled, "Keep your shirt on, we're coming!" He impatiently yanked open the door to see a somewhat disheveled and wild-eyed looking Lindsey.

"You've gotta come," Lindsey began without preamble. "There's something wrong. Something's going on."

Angel let out a long-suffering sigh. "Where am I supposed to go with you?" he queried.

"The senior partner's suite." Lindsey blinked. It had somehow never occurred to him worry how the rest of the world fared. He was focused solely on Ariel.

Buffy stifled a giggle as Angel rolled his eyes. She'd already picked up on the fact that the two weren't the best of buddies. "How do you know something's wrong there?"

"All the lights had been out for a while," Lindsey explained, not realizing how much he was revealing of his own activities. "Then, there was a sudden flash of light in Ariel's room..," His voice trailed off as it did begin to sink in just how this was going to look.

Angel sighed again. "We'll talk about you stalking my goddaughter later," he said, in a voice that said he wouldn't be forgetting that talk. He turned away.

"Aren't you going to come and see what's up?" Lindsey exclaimed in dismay.

"Is it all right if I put on some pants first?" Angel shot back sarcastically, noting that Buffy had already disappeared, no doubt getting herself decent as well.

&&&&&&&

Ariel woke up abruptly, feeling that something wasn't right. All it took was for her to open her eyes to see that her feelings were fully justified.

She was in a satin-sheeted bed in a room as opulent as anyone could ask for, the one discordant note being that sitting across the room, watching her every move, was Sweet.

"What am I doing here?" Ariel demanded, furious at the hysterical tone that she couldn't keep out of her voice. "You didn't fulfill your contract."

Sweet nodded lazily. "Not with the partners, that's for true," he crooned softly. "But there's also the one I had with you." He walked over to the bed and reached out to stroke the pale white skin of Ariel's bare arm.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Ariel hissed, bouncing off the other side of the bed.

"Hardly the way to act around your bridegroom," Sweet murmured, smiling. "But if you want to play games, I'll play along. For a while."

"I'm not playing," Ariel warned. "And neither will Daddy and Uncle Angel when they get here."

"By the time they've figured it out," Sweet declared. "It will be too late. You'll already be my bride."

"But I'm only thirteen," Ariel wailed, not even thinking that only a week or so ago she had thought thirteen quite grown up. She certainly didn't feel grown up now. She felt young, alone, afraid, and she wanted her daddy.

&&&&&&

A very irritated looking Spike was still fumbling to tie his robe shut when he answered the door, and Buffy and Lindsey didn't need Angel's vampire senses to figure out what they'd interrupted. "This had better be damned important," Spike growled.

Without a word, Lindsey shoved past him. He ran through the apartment to Ariel's room and flung the door open. "She's gone," he announced. He was beginning to look more than a little panicky. "Ariel's gone."

"What in the bloody hell..," Spike began as the rest of his family came out to see what was going on.

"Why were you watching the suite, Lindsey?" Angel broke in unexpectedly.

"Huh? What?" Lindsey seemed to be having trouble shifting gears. "I don't know," he admitted. "But something just didn't seem right."

"And something isn't," Buffy remarked.

&&&&&&&

Fred snuggled into a restless Wesley. "Something wrong, honey? she murmured.

Wes rolled over so he could put his arms around her. "I don't know," he confessed. "I just have this niggling feeling that it isn't all over yet."

It was at that moment that the phone rang.

&&&&&&

Lorne finally emerged from the shower. Aside from the fact that he'd been unable to bathe while Sweet's captive, he just felt.., contaminated. A prolonged scrubbing had been called for.

He started to reach for a glass in which to pour a good, stiff double of painkiller when he halted. Now why was that, he pondered. If anyone deserved to get alcoholically relaxed, surely he was on the list of candidates. He reached for the bottle, stopped, then reached for it again.

He dropped the bottle, which happily landed on the carpet, when the phone rang.

&&&&&&

Gunn was pacing around his apartment like a caged panther. He'd been all psyched up for a fight, then hadn't even seen any action.

It was late, he ought to be in bed, but he was just too damn wired to sleep anyway.

He jumped, then grinned, when the phone rang.

&&&&&&

Corinna prepared for bed in her bare, little apartment. It was severely plain because she saw no need for any sort of adornments for a place. She paused and sighed over her missed date with Lorne. Not cancelled, but postponed. Well, there had been good cause.

Her hand was just reaching for the light switch when the phone rang.

&&&&&&&

Alaric hung up the phone. "That's everybody, Uncle Angel," he reported dutifully.

Angel had saddled his godson with the task of phoning everyone because Rose, upon learning that her daughter was missing was in no shape for it, and Spike was comforting her. And knowing how close the twins were, he'd thought the boy could most likely use the distraction. "We don't actually have any information to go on yet." His remark was addressed to Lindsey and Buffy.

"My money's on Sweet," Buffy stated. "He keeps losing out in the romance department. Maybe he decided he wasn't going to play by the rules anymore."

"Amulet!" It burst out of Lindsey suddenly, like he'd been mentally snapping his fingers and had suddenly thought of something, which was just what had happened. "Wasn't there something about her wearing an amulet?"

"Never saw her wearing it," Spike commented. There was a tautness about him that suggested a wellspring of unleashed violence, and yet, none of this showed in the tender way he stroked the chestnut head that was nestled into his shoulder.

"She probably kept it out of sight," Angel said, fighting to keep his own violent tendencies in check. "Tucked under her clothes. But why wouldn't she have taken it off?"

"You can get used to wearing something like that," Buffy remarked, thinking of the cross tucked safely under her clothes. "Sometimes you kind of forget you've got it on. Especially with all the other upheaval going on. She probably just forgot she was wearing it."

Rose lifted her head, and proved that the conversation had not entirely escaped her. And that, perhaps, all the comfort she was being given was more a case of Spike being overprotective than anything. "But surely she'd have taken it off before she went to bed, wouldn't she?" she asked, mystified.

Buffy shook her head. Rose was well adapted to her human role, no doubt about it, but there were some things that she had missed out on, starting out as a full adult. "When you're in the throes of your first crush, and he, or someone pretending to be him sends you a piece of jewelry, you don't take it off. Ever. She's probably been wearing it non-stop since the minute she got it."

"So, if Sweet has a signed contract stating that Ariel will marry him," Lindsey muttered miserably. "And, she's wearing his amulet, then..,"

"We're in really deep shit," Alaric finished. He glanced at his parents and looked even more depressed as he noted that Rose had forgotten to tell him to watch his language.

&&&&&&&

"Absolutely not," Ariel declared defiantly. Her outraged glare was divided more or less evenly between Sweet, a couple of the puppet men, and a gauzy, fairy-tale gown in crimson.

Sweet clucked his tongue and shook his head. "You're not even delaying the inevitable, Ariel," he stated softly. "You're just making things hard on yourself. Here's the deal. You either put the dress on, or they will put it on you." He crossed his arms across his chest to see how his intended would take the ultimatum.

Ariel sighed, and walked over to where the gown lay. For one brief, but obviously insane, moment, Sweet thought she was going to comply. His jaw nearly hit the floor when Ariel picked the garment up and ripped it neatly down the middle.


	13. Through the Maze

83

Through the Maze

"So, how do we kill him?" Angel asked, looking to Buffy, rather than Wesley.

Buffy shrugged. "Beats me," she admitted. "I never even fought with him."

Angel's eyes turned towards Wesley then. "How about it, Wes," he asked. "I'm sure you've done some digging since Sweet showed up."

"I have done some digging, yes," Wesley conceded. "But I'm afraid I never did really strike paydirt. Sweet's a very elusive fellow, it's hard to track him down."

"Do we at least know where to find him?" Gunn inquired. "Knowing how to kill him won't help if we can't get to him."

"That, at least, I did manage to ferret out," Wesley answered. "The dimensional coordinates are in my desk."

"Do I get to go too?" Everyone turned to stare at Alaric, whose voice had, seemingly instantaneously shifted from cracking adolescence to something nearly identical to his father's baritone.

Angel looked over to Spike and Rose. The question had been directed at him, but they were Alaric's parents. They already had one child missing, they might not be willing to risk the one they had left.

Spike and Rose gazed into each other's eyes for a moment in silent communication, then Spike gave a short, tight nod, almost as if to say he agreed to the request, but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it.

"All right." Angel granted permission nearly as grudgingly as Spike had. "You're in. After all, you did figure out how to disable the puppets."

"So, does everyone just grab something sharp and/or pointy and hope it works?" Fred inquired. "I doubt if he'll be as easy to take out as his puppets."

"I wonder if he can be poisoned," Corinna mused, with an odd half-smile on her face.

"I would bet on it, sweetie," Lorne remarked. "He's got such a thick hide you'd probably break your fangs."

Corinna shrugged. "It was a thought."

"I really wish we knew for sure how to kill him," Angel grumbled. "Because I do not want a repeat performance of tonight."

"Or have to put a 24/7 guard on Ariel," Lindsey added.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would go down real well," Gunn commented.

"I can't imagine being under constant surveillance going down well with a teen-ager," Buffy agreed. She looked around. "Well, I guess we go with sharp and/or pointy things."

&&&&&&

Sweet had put a sleep spell on Ariel, and while she was under, his minions had dressed her in a duplicate of the dress she had ruined. He also considered it expedient to dispose of her own clothes, pajamas, rather, so she had no other option in the clothing department except to go naked. He was pretty sure she wouldn't take that option.

Now, to wake her up and take her through the ceremony before the cavalry arrived. And Sweet had no doubt that it would.

&&&&&&

They were all equipped and ready to head out. Spike had tried to put his foot down and leave Rose behind, but Rose had put her dainty foot down just as firmly, and, as usual, Spike had caved.

Alaric ran his fingers over the hilt of the claymore, still in shock that they were actually letting him come along too. He figured he'd be able to take out a few of the puppet men. He had no illusions that he'd even be allowed anywhere near Sweet. Dad, Uncle Angel, and probably the Slayer too, would be competing for the action there. He glanced over at Lindsey, who was testing the heft of a battle ax. He was the one that had given the alarm, but how had he known to? Alaric decided he was going to have a little chat with Lindsey at the first available opportunity.

Buffy was scanning the group with a slight frown. "Do you really thing we need this many people?" she queried. "I know this is personal, but really."

"We're leaving Lorne behind to summon help if we're too long returning," Wesley remarked mildly.

Buffy sighed. From what she'd heard, Rose wasn't a particularly experienced fighter. And as for the kid.., Alaric, that was it, it looked like he'd just gotten lucky with the puppet man. Angel and Spike, she'd take with her to a fight anytime, she knew and trusted their skills. Wesley, she still tended to think of more as a Watcher rather than a fighter. She didn't know much about Gunn, either, but she liked the way the wicked looking ax he held seemed to be almost and extension of his arm. Fred and Corinna also were unknown quantities, but when she looked at Lindsey closely, she gave an involuntary shiver. Looking into his eyes had given her a very good definition of the word obsession. She shook her head to clear it. Ten people, she felt was too many. She gave Angel a pleading look.

Angel shook his head and almost grinned. "You never know," he commented. "The extra numbers might come in handy."

"Heaven help us if we do need them," Wesley muttered.

Buffy shrugged helplessly. She still thought it likely that their best fighters were going to spend more time protecting the weakest rather than battling the enemy. Unfortunately, she wasn't calling the shots here.

"Are we just going to hang about here?" Spike demanded. "Or are we going to pull our thumbs out of our asses and go get my little girl?"

"Well, I guess we're as ready as we're ever going to be," Angel stated. "Let's get going."

&&&&&&

Ariel woke, wearing the wedding dress, and tethered to a post, neither circumstance being one designed to welcome her to consciousness gracefully. In short, cranky did not even come into it. She looked up and saw Sweet beaming at her benevolently.

Ariel glared back at him. "I am not going to marry you." Her lower lip was starting to protrude.

Sweet gave an almost rueful half-laugh. "It's almost a done deal now, my lovely," he informed her. "Your participation is not required for the ceremony. Merely your presence." He gestured, theatrically, of course, and three puppet men appeared. One was empty-handed, one carried an ornate gold chalice, and the third was in possession of a heavily bejeweled and very sharp-looking knife.

Upon sight of the knife, Ariel vamped out and bared her fangs at the puppet men.

&&&&&&&

The trip through the portal had been simple enough, but upon arrival, the rescue party had found themselves in an enormous underground maze so complex that there was nothing for it but to split up into smaller groups.

So, Angel went with Spike and Rose, in the main because he, like Spike, still felt Rose needed protecting. Gunn and Corinna went with Wes and Fred, leaving Buffy with Alaric and Lindsey.

Buffy gave her teammates another quick, surreptitious once over. And still felt the same way she had the last time. But she was reasonably sure she could take out Sweet herself, so really, all the other two would have to do would be to keep the puppet men off her back while she was doing it.

&&&&&&&&&

"If you start having problems, pet, you pull back and let me and Angel handle it. You got that?" Spike had been hovering over Rose so badly that Angel reflected it was probably going to be easier on Alaric, not being in the same group as his parents. And Buffy would make sure that nothing happened to the boy.

"Please stop fussing, darling," Rose pleaded softly, although there was an irritated edge to her voice. "I'll be just fine."

Spike opened his mouth to argue when Angel brought his hand down firmly on the younger vampire's shoulder.

"Let it go, Spike," he advised, voice pitched for Spike's ears alone. "Don't be sending her into a fight doubting herself. Just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get hurt. And I'll do the same."

Angel felt some of the tension go out of Spike before Spike shook him off. "Yeah," he agreed, quietly, if grudgingly. "Don't want her doubting herself. But you keep your eyes peeled, you big, dumb nit."

&&&&&&&&

"Why do underground tunnels all have that dripping noise?" Gunn complained. Seeing the Watcher open his mouth to reply, he added hastily, "It was a rhetorical question, Wes."

Fred gave Wesley, who looked a little disappointed at being denied the opportunity to lecture, an understanding smile, and squeezed his arm.

Corinna merely looked around her and suppressed a shiver. She hadn't been below ground since she'd gotten away from Santa, and it was bring back memories best forgotten.

&&&&&&&

Sweet shook his head and winced, mentally and physically, when one of Ariel's flying feet connected with its intended target and sent one of his puppets sailing across the room. Why hadn't the idiots thought to bind her feet? You'd think that they were a bunch of mindless., oh yeah, right. He sighed. Part of the problem lay in the fact that the puppets had been given very strict orders, (they were all right when given specific instructions) not to harm Ariel, other than that which the ceremony required. Ariel was not so handicapped. In fact, at the moment, she seemed determined to do as much damage as her limited mobility would allow. He sighed again. Maybe he should try to lend a hand. He started forward, and barely managed to dodge out of the way as another puppet came whizzing by, at which point, he changed his mind. Let the puppets handle it. If nothing else, his reluctant bride was sure to tire.., eventually.

&&&&&&

"Here now, watch it, luv," Spike cautioned, as Rose, starting at hearing a sound behind her nearly cracked his head with her staff. Only his vampire's reflexes, he reflected, had saved him from a knot on the noggin. "Just steady on, babe. I've got your back. I'll let you know if there's something to hit back here."

"I'm sorry, darling," Rose apologized distractedly. This wasn't Rose's first time seeing action, the reason she had learned to fight in the first place, was that the action had a tendency to happen wherever she was. But this was the first time in several years that one of her offspring was threatened. Spike had forgotten how belligerent that made his gentle, loving wife.

Angel bit his tongue before telling Rose she wouldn't be allowed to do any more field work if she couldn't handle this. Rose hadn't chosen to do field work, it had chosen her, and right now, she was more likely to respond to Spike than anyone. But he had a feeling that if their team did see any action, neither he nor Spike would be worth a good damn, because they'd both be busy protecting Rose, who would, in all probability wade right into the thick of things, the rescue of her daughter being foremost on her mind.

&&&&&&

Buffy had insisted on taking point, and Alaric welcomed it. It gave him a chance to hang back and talk to Lindsey about something that had been weighing on his mind. Being very much his father's son, tact was not a consideration.

"You're way too old for her, you know," he stated flatly.

"I know," Lindsey rasped back, peering this way and that as if hoping to see Ariel through solid rock.

"Is that all you've got to say?" Alaric hissed in a whisper. "If you know you're too old for her then why..?"

"I don't know," Lindsey interrupted softly. "It's almost like ever since I first met her, I couldn't see another woman."

"She wasn't a woman when you met her," the boy persisted. "She was only seven. Hell, she isn't a woman now, she's still a kid."

Lindsey struggled not to smile at that one. Alaric could boldly state that his minutes' younger sister was still a kid, in such a manner as to imply that he was an adult, but if he'd probably take a swing at him if he pointed that out. Besides, this was a serious conversation. Levity would be an unwelcome distraction, and not much of a distraction at that.

"That's why I've been waiting," the Texan explained. "I'd never do anything to hurt Ariel, even if it meant, as it seems to, that I'd never have a chance with her. It's just that right from the first, I've felt drawn to her."

Not only did Lindsey's voice ring with utter sincerity, but Alaric did a little skimming through the lawyer's thoughts that pertained to the subject at hand. He got a queasy, awful feeling. "Oh bloody hell," he muttered. "I'm starting to get the feeling this whole thing has been arranged. If that's the case, then the distaff side of the family wants talking to."

Lindsey had to pause a moment to sort out that speech. The twins usually talked like everyone else, for the most part, but sometimes, they let their precocity show and threw you for a loop. "You mean.., The Powers?" His jaw fell open, as he lost the power of speech.

"Could you two put a sock in it?" Buffy suggested, in no-nonsense tones. She had heard it all, and found it entertaining to the point of distraction. Besides, they'd really taken that particular conversation as far as they could, given the circumstances. Time to give it a rest. "After we've rescued your sister you can spend all the time you want trying to figure out if The Powers That Be want a lawyer in your family."


	14. Continuing Through the Labyrinth

89

Through the Labyrinth

Angel held up his hand for a moment, halting and silencing Spike and Rose. He appeared to be listening to or for something, very intently. Spike joined him, while a frustrated Rose had to wait on them to tell her what was going on.

"Well, someone's coming," Spike finally whispered.

"That was why I stopped and listened in the first place," Angel rejoined in condescending tones. "I was hoping for a little more information than that. Did you pick up anything?"

Somewhat abashed, Spike shook his head. "The way the sound bounces around down here, can't tell who, what, or how many."

"But it should mean we're on the right track, shouldn't it?" Rose asked hopefully.

Angel decided not to bring up possibilities that an undistracted Rose (which she certainly wasn't right now) would have thought of. Instead, he forced a half-grin and said, "Why don't we find out?" Then, grabbing Rose's arm when she would have proceeded with all speed added, "With caution and finesse, please?"

&&&&&&

"I hear voices up ahead," Alaric hissed suddenly.

Buffy stopped. For all a Slayer's abilities, a vamp could still hear better than she could. "Can you tell anything about them?" she queried. "Ours? Theirs? How close?"

Alaric shook his head, looking disgusted. "Not with the acoustics in this place," he replied quietly. "The sounds are all over the place."

"Could it just be echoes from our own voice?" Lindsey inquired.

"No." Alaric didn't elaborate, and Lindsey was left with the feeling that he still had a few more issues he wanted to address where he was concerned.

Buffy caught the tone too. "No arguing," she ordered firmly. "In fact, no talking at all until we know what we're walking into."

"Yes, ma'am," Lindsey drawled with a grim smile.

Buffy stared pointedly at Alaric until he mumbled a sulky, "okay."

&&&&&&

Sweet was sitting well out of range and watching the show. The original three puppets had finally sent for reinforcements, and with the extra help, manage to secure Ariel's legs.

Ariel glared at them all impartially, wishing, for once, she weren't too well-mannered to swear..., much. "Get your cheap thrill for the day?" she snapped at Sweet. Her face still hadn't reverted back to human.

"Hardly cheap," the demon observed, looking at the chaos her struggles had wreaked. He moved closer and allowed himself to caress a bare, milky-white shoulder, briefly. He wasn't stupid enough to try to touch her face, where the fangs were. "How about putting on a pretty face and a smile?" he suggested smoothly. "After all, a bride should look her best for her wedding."

"You go to hell," Ariel snarled. Then, feeling helpless and hopeless, she burst into tears.

&&&&&&

"Shhh." Fred stopped everyone in her party. "I think I just heard something."

Everyone else fell silent, and they all stood for a few minutes, listening.

Wesley felt a complete fraud. He knew he wasn't going to hear anything before anyone else could. The truth was, he'd been growing a bit hard of hearing over the past few years. So far, he thought, he'd managed not to let on to anyone else, but he feared his charade wouldn't hold up for much longer.

Gunn listened too, but every time he thought he heard something other than the normal, (if the word normal could be applied here) sounds of the tunnels, listening again just revealed.., the normal sounds of the tunnels.

Corinna also listened. After some long moments, she murmured, "I thought I heard voices. Just for an instant."

"That's what I thought," Fred replied. She slapped her open palm against the wall. "Darn this rock for being such a good sound conductor."

"No way to pinpoint where the sound is coming from?" Gunn asked hopefully, as though he expected Fred to pull some high-tech rabbit out of her hat.

"Oh sure." Fred allowed a trace of sarcasm to creep into her voice. "If I had half my lab here. Even the vampires probably wouldn't be able to trace down this. They'd just be chasing echoes."

"Well then, I suggest we proceed as we have been," Wesley remarked. At least he could make sensible decisions, something his failing faculties could still handle.

"We could be walking right into a trap," Corinna pointed out.

Gunn shrugged. "You roll the dice and take your chances."

"No one will think less of you if you want to go back and wait at the portal, Corinna," Wesley commented softly. The spider-woman's nerves had been jangling almost audibly.

"No," Corinna demurred quietly. "You people took me in and believed in me, when you had no reason to. I don't want to betray you now."

Fred thought of several things that could be said, and many that shouldn't be, and settled for giving Corinna a one armed hug. "Let's find Ariel and go home," she suggested.

"Now that sounds like a plan," Gunn agreeed.

&&&&&&&

"Anything yet?" Angel asked in muted tones. They'd stopped for the nth time for a listen.

"I can't pin it down," Spike replied with a little too much volume, and even more heat. "Every little sound bounces off five or twenty different places before it stops. And there are more of them now too."

Rose laid a reassuring hand on her husband's arm. "We'll get Ariel back, Spike," she declared softly.

Spike swung her into a quick hug to ease the tension. "Right we will, pet," he agreed. "But I think we need to stop this pussyfooting around. We're not finding anything out with it, and it is wasting precious time."

"Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes?" Angel inquired, already half-way in agreement. Besides, when Spike got the bit in his teeth, you just had to give him his head and let him run with it.

&&&&&

"It's only a few drops," Sweet crooned soothingly. "A healthy girl like you will never even miss it."

"You're taking blood from a vampire and saying I won't miss it?" Ariel's spate of weeping had passed, and her defiance had returned and then some. "Tell you what, I'll just take it back from you. With interest."

"I love a woman of spirit," Sweet muttered. But he was a little unnerved by the pronounced return of Ariel's resistance. It suggested that time might just be running out on him.

"Then you ought to adore me," Ariel declared with palpably false sweetness. She batted her eyelashes at him. "Won't you give you bride to be one little taste?"

Sweet laughed nervously. The ceremony should do more than bind them, it should also soften that negative attitude of hers. He was beginning to wonder if it would be enough. But he'd gone too far to back out now. He gestured to the puppets to begin the ceremony. Again.

&&&&&&&

"It's a door," Spike stated decisively.

"I know it's a door," Angel growled in exasperated tones. "But what's behind it?"

Spike had all his senses going on that one. "She's there," he declared excitedly. "Got her scent."

As Angel grinned in reply, his face moved, and wrinkled.

Spike grinned back, following suit.

"If you two are quite finished," Rose said, trying to shove past them. "My daughter is in there."

&&&&&&

"If there's one thing I don't trust in situations like these, it's an unlocked door," Wesley muttered. "There's usually something quite nasty behind them."

"Well, we're looking for nasty," Gunn pointed out. "Remember, Wes?"

"I think she's in there," Corinna whispered, rubbing her throbbing temples. "I don't know how or why, but I just do feel that she's in there."

"Probably The Powers lending a hand," Wesley murmured. He remembered the headaches Cordelia and Doyle had gotten from their visions.

"Well, if we've got The Powers up there on our side," Fred remarked. "And, the Powers down here, then I think it's time to go kick some butt."

&&&&&&&

"Wait just a second, hot-shot," Buffy grabbed Alaric's arm, and knew he was obeying her command, since she wasn't having to fight to restrain him. "One, what makes you so sure?"

Alaric released the door and shook off Buffy's hand with a pitying look. He gave her a loud sniff, then one of Spike's smirks.

"That will be enough of that," Buffy said sternly, not sure if she wanted to smile or slap him. Lord, he looked exactly like Spike. "I'm point, and if you can't remember that, you might try remembering that I'm a vampire slayer, and you're a vampire."

Even the nearly maniacally keyed-up Lindsey almost chuckled at that.

&&&&&&&&

As the puppets approached once more, Ariel gave a nearly hysterical giggle. "Look behind you," she cooed in a little girl's sing-song voice.

Sweet shook his head in disappointment. "I really hadn't expected such an unimaginative trick from you."

"Then maybe you expected this," Angel suggested, slamming his staff into the demon's midsection.

"Or this," Spike offered, hitting Sweet from the other side.

"I hope you were planning on sharing," Buffy said, entering the room.

&&&&&&&

For some immeasurable amount of time all was chaos. In addition to Sweet, there were several puppets present as well. The battle raged on fiercely for some time.

Having seen what Alaric had done back in their own dimension, they all knew how to disable the puppets. Once they could maneuver them into the right position, it was all over bar the shouting.

Soon enough, Sweet found himself entirely without allies. But he had more than enough enemies to make up for the deficiency.

Once the last puppet had fallen, and Sweet chivvied to the other side of the room, about half their contingent, led by Rose, made for Ariel. The other half harried a very un-happy looking Sweet.

Sweet had seen some ugly mobs before, but when three out of the five people stalking him were sprouting wrinkles and fangs, well, it didn't get much uglier.

Gunn wobbled, and Rose stopped her headlong flight, knowing that Ariel, if not comfortable, was at least safe. "You did take a blow to the head, Charles," she voiced her concern. "Are you all right?"

"You could have a concussion," Wesley observed. He waved his hand in front of Gunn's face. "How many fingers?"

"How about this one?" Gunn flipped him off. Then, his knees started to buckle again.

"Sit down before you fall down," Fred ordered firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder and exerting pressure downward.

Gunn obeyed Fred where he had defied Wesley. Besides, he honestly didn't think he could stand on his own two feet under his own power right now.

"Mummy?" said Ariel plaintively. "My arms are getting really, really tired."

&&&&&&&

Sweet kept retreating, but the vampires, the Slayer and a lawyer who somehow scared him more than the other four, kept right on advancing. Soon, he was back up against the wall, literally, but, he hoped, not metaphorically.

And yet, his eyes drifted across the room to Ariel and her entourage. Wesley was fiddling at her wrists with a lock pick, and getting nowhere fast.

&&&&&&

"I keep hearing it click," Wesley insisted, although in truth, he felt it more than heard it. "The tumblers have clicked four times now and it still hasn't opened. There is no possible way that a lock this size could be that complex."

"Maybe it's spelled?" Rose and Corinna suggested simultaneously.

"Oh crap," Fred said. "It better not be. There's a story in my department about a bright young lab tech that worked there who was supposed to program a lock picking talisman with every know locking spell. He died."

"What of?" her husband inquired, hating himself for asking, but unable to resist.

"Old age," Fred replied grimly. "I know Ariel's going to be around a long time, but she can't spend the next century in that position."

"Please tell me someone is kidding," Ariel begged, her bravado beginning to melt. "I'm only thirteen. A hundred years still seems like forever."

"We'll get you out of there, darling," Rose soothed. "And I promise you, it won't take one hundred years."

"Perhaps..," Corinna began.

"Or maybe...," Wesley murmured.

Rose raised her voice to be heard above the din on the other side of the chamber. "Spike, darling, don't kill him yet."

"What?" Spike's voice rose in exasperation. "Why not?" He sounded like a sulky child.

"We think he has Ariel's restraints bespelled," Fred shouted. "We need him to find out which spell he used."

"Oh well, bloody hell," Spike snarled, disgusted.

Sweet smiled, a smile that built up slowly, and was all the more chilling for it. It looked like he was in a position to do some bargaining. He intended to make the most of it.


	15. Into the Sunset

94

Into the Sunset

"Start talking, demon," Lindsey rasped.

Spike glared at the Texan as if he were irritated with him for stepping on his line, but held his peace on the score.

"Or what?" Sweet taunted. "You'll kill me? Do that, and you'll never get the girl back." He leaned against the wall he'd retreated to. Now, he radiated a smug nonchalance that made all present want to hit him. Or at least, increased their already strong desire to lay one on him.

Angel put his hand on Sweet's shoulder in a companionable seeming gesture. "We won't kill you," he said, in soft, nearly genial tones. "But I'm sure we could hurt you an awful lot without actually killing you."

"Pain tends to make me somewhat less than cooperative," Sweet murmured, feeling a little less confident. They should be willing to make concessions to get the girl back. They weren't playing according to the rules as Sweet understood them. He looked at the Slayer. She had offered herself in her sister's place, before. True, circumstances had changed, but, odd as it seemed, she might be more reasonable about negotiating.

Buffy smiled at him all too sweetly. "Did the senior partners by any chance mention that your fiancé and her brother are part of a prophecy?"

"A prophecy?" Sweet's features remained serene, but a block of ice began to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes, a prophecy." Wesley's voice rang out as he strode across the room. There was certainly nothing he could do to aid Ariel where she was, so he'd decided to join the group surrounding the dancing demon. Gunn struggled to his feet and followed. Concussed or not, he wanted to be where the action was.

"How do you think The Powers That Be will feel about you tampering with their prophecy?" Wesley continued.

Sweet cleared his throat uneasily, but managed to summon up a touch more bravado. "I haven't heard them objecting yet," he countered. "So maybe she's not quite as important to the prophecy as you seem to think."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Sweet found everyone smiling at that one. Well, almost everyone. Rose had her hands over her mouth, seemingly suppressing a giggle, and the expressions on the faces of the rest of her family could only be called smirks. The only other person who wasn't giving him a smile composed of equal parts of amusement and condescending pity was the little lawyer with the burning eyes and the air of a crusader about him.

"Words obviously aren't going to do the trick," Lindsey stated in his soft, yet menacing drawl. "I think it's time he started finding out just how badly he can be hurt. I vote for making sure he doesn't have the wherewithal to enjoy his wedding night." Then, Lindsey smiled, and the expression chilled Sweet's blood.

The demon suppressed a sigh. He was beaten, and there was only one way he could get out now with his hide intact. But he found it galling that once again, he was going to have to tuck tail and run with nothing to show for his pains. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," he muttered, need it be said, theatrically. With a flourish, two pieces of paper appeared in his hand, then fluttered to the floor, as Sweet himself vanished in a puff of garishly colored smoke.

Gunn and Lindsey, perhaps predictably, fell on the papers. In Gunn's case, quite literally, as he could no longer keep to his feet. But he could read the document in his hands.

"This is a signed document releasing Ariel from the contract she signed," he announced. There was a group sigh of relief.

"But I'm still chained up." Ariel failed totally in her attempt to keep her voice even.

"Not for long, princess." Lindsey stuffed the paper he held into the pocket of his jeans as he walked unhurriedly across the echoing chamber.

Alaric opened his mouth to say something, but Spike, without ever removing his eyes from the scene playing out before them, silenced him with a gesture.

Indeed, the room was eerily silent save for the rhythmic tapping of Lindsey's boots as he moved closer to Ariel.

Lindsey felt almost as nervous as a bridegroom himself. But this was the right way, he was sure, he really didn't see how it could be otherwise. And the instructions on his piece of paper had been pretty clear. He ambled right up under the pedestal that Ariel was on, looked up into her eyes and said, "I love you."

Whether from the shock of hearing Lindsey make his declaration, or that she was in no way prepared for the sudden release from her restraints, or a combination of the two, Ariel tumbled off her pedestal and into Lindsey's arms.

&&&&&&

Lorne was pacing the portal room, alternating glances between the clock and the portal itself, anxiously awaiting the triumphal return of the rescue party. He refused to allow the thought of any other possibility. Why any moment, they should come trooping through the portal, relaxed and carefree, maybe cracking a few jokes at each other's expense.

The portal shimmered open, and the rescue party, plus Ariel, filed in. But instead of smiles, laughter or any other signs of gaiety, there was a silence that was neither comfortable nor companionable. And the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Lorne was at a loss. Here everybody was, safe, sound, and by the look of things, not too badly damaged. So why were they all acting like they were the guests of honor at a funeral? Even Ariel looked somber, and if anyone had a reason to be smiling, he'd have thought it would be her.

"Moppet?" Lorne said softly.

"Uncle Lorne." Ariel broke through her honor guard, consisting of Spike, Alaric and Angel, and threw herself into the empath's outstretched arms.

&&&&&&

Even though for the first time in days all were present and accounted for in the Powers residence, the cheerful family reunion that should have been taking place, wasn't. In fact, by tacit consent, immediately upon arrival, everyone headed straight for their respective rooms.

&&&&&&

Rose and Spike were preparing for bed, still, at the moment, in silence. Rose, at least, was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed, snuggled up to her beloved. But she could tell she was going to have to take steps with Spike, or he was going to be so restless that neither one of them would be getting any sleep. She turned to speak to him in time to see one of his boots go sailing across the room to thud into the wall.

"Do you feel better now?" Rose inquired carefully, keeping the sarcasm out of her voice, and an effort it was, too.

Spike looked up from the contemplation of his other boot to see Rose, all satin and curves and chestnut hair tumbling over her shoulders, and his expression softened markedly.

Rose settled down on the bed behind him and began rubbing his shoulders. "What's wrong, darling? Aren't you glad that we've got our daughter back?"

Spike closed his eyes for a moment, just to savor the feel of Rose's touch without any distractions. Finally, though, he answered. He knew Rose would keep gently pushing until he did. "Of course I'm glad we've got her back," he replied slowly.

"But?" Rose prompted softly, leaning forward to snuggle against him.

"I didn't go to get our daughter," Spike explained a bit awkwardly. "I went to get my little girl. But she wasn't there."

&&&&&

'Why your room?' Alaric asked when the twins met for a silent conference. 'Why not mine?'

Ariel sighed out loud, but answered telepathically. 'First, it wouldn't surprise me if Daddy has a fit of paranoia and decides to do a bed check.'

'And your room's closest to theirs,' Alaric conceded. 'Not to mention you having been kidnapped twice this week already. Dad would spazz if he looked in your room and you weren't here. What's the other reason?'

'Your room is disgusting, brother mine,' Ariel responded, some of the tension being relieved by the normality of the situation. 'There are things under your bed that Aunt Fred should be analyzing in her lab.'

'It's not that bad,' Alaric protested, mostly out of habit. but there were other things on his mind, and defending his lifestyle as far as the confines of his room went, paled beside them. 'Dad looked pretty shook up. Did you read him?'

'God, no!' Ariel gave a mental shudder. 'The look on his face was bad enough. And we'd already had one argument about Lindsey.'

'I thought you got over Lindsey ages ago,' Alaric put in. 'Didn't you?'

'Of course.' Ariel's mental 'voice' was slightly scornful. 'He's just a friend.'

'A friend that's in love with you,' Alaric pointed out. 'You know, I think I'd pay real money to see what was on that piece of paper he stuffed in his pocket, though.'

&&&&&&

Lindsey looked around his Spartan apartment and took a swig of his beer without actually tasting it. He wondered idly, or maybe not so idly, if he should just start packing now. He was pretty sure that the transfer he'd asked for would be, if not waiting on his desk for him, would be in the works, at least. And Rose's tolerance of his feelings for her daughter notwithstanding, he figured that she was going to be outvoted this time. By three very male, very protective vampires. He thought back to the moment he'd made his declaration, thereby releasing Ariel from her chains. He'd barely caught her, hadn't even had time to set her on her feet, when Spike had been there, unceremoniously snatching her out of his arms. And then he, Angel and Ariel's twin all surrounding her on the trip back like they thought he was going to try something, there in plain sight of everybody.

He sighed and took another drink. It would be so much easier if he could just drink her out of his system, find some way to forget. But to date, and he'd had over six years to work on it, he hadn't made a bit of progress in that direction. For a brief moment, he entertained the notion that maybe it was meant to be. but he quickly shied away from the thought. Ariel was a tool of destiny, while he, he strongly suspected, was just a tool.

He took another drink and sighed again. What was it about her?

&&&&

'Ariel.'

'Ariel.'

'What?' Ariel grumped mentally. She'd just gotten to sleep, and it was an activity she hadn't been enjoying to it's fullest of late.

Citrine: 'Reminiscent of her father, isn't she?' There were undertones of amusement.

Violet: 'She has had a very stressful time of late. And she is still a child.'

Ariel: 'Did you wake me up to talk about me? Or to me?' She was still reacting, the brain cells hadn't really begun to kick in yet.

Sienna: 'You know who we are, do you not, child?'

It was then that it finally dawned on Ariel that she wasn't in the habit of mind talking with complete strangers. 'Oh wow. You're them. I mean, The Powers That Be.'

Viridian: 'Perhaps it would help if you considered us as simply a few more aunts and uncles.'

Cerulean: 'Be that as it may. We did not initiate contact for the purposes of a family reunion.'

Violet: 'True enough.' Ariel could swear she could detect a hint of regret in The Power's mental 'voice.'

Viridian: 'Very true. We have a task that we need you to perform, young Ariel.'

&&&&&&

Angel was at least mildly surprised when Buffy's first act upon re-entering his penthouse was to go to the fridge and help herself to a beer. Intellectually, he knew that she was of age, and had been for some years, but part of him still saw her as the same sixteen year old who'd been madly in love with him. She held up another bottle and looked at him questioningly.

"I think I could use it," he admitted, snagging it neatly out of the air as she tossed it to him. They sat facing each other, drinking in silence for a few minutes, in which the tension mounted palpably with each passing second.

Buffy broke the silence, and the tension at the same time. "So, what is it with you and cookie dough?"

Angel narrowly missed spraying a mouthful of beer all over her. "Hey, it isn't me," he protested, when he'd gotten himself back under control. "I mean, I don't start it. Especially not with a girl that I've bottle-fed, burped and changed diapers for."

Buffy grinned. "I know, I was just yanking your chain, and trying to lighten things up before the atmosphere in here got unbearable."

Angel rolled his eyes and barely resisted the urge to flip her off. "Next time you do that, could you make sure that I'm not taking a drink of something? You came this close to wearing it."

"Sorry," Buffy apologized with patent insincerity.

"Yeah, right." Angel wasn't taken in, but he did have other things on his mind. "And back to the subject of Ariel, I really don't know..,"

Buffy interrupted with a theatrical sigh. "I know you don't know," she assured him. "I wonder why The Powers gave men such a tendency towards cluelessness?" she asked no one in particular.

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that you, who have never met Ariel before, know why she developed a crush on me?" Angel asked semi-sarcastically.

It was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes. "Look around you," she suggested. "Who does the girl see? And out of the people she sees, how many can she trust? And who of those people are tall, dark, good-looking, and have the hero thing going for them? That girl needs to go to a regular school so she can start having crushes on boys her own age."

"They're starting public school this year," Angel informed her. He thought about what else she'd said. "I guess that makes sense, about there not really being much of anyone else she might develop a crush on, but why couldn't she just not have fallen for anyone at all?"

"Well duh." The look the Slayer gave him was almost pitying. "Because she's thirteen." She finished her beer, stood and stretched. "It looks like my work here is done. Think I can get a lift to the airport first thing in the morning?"

"No good-byes?" Angel stood as well.

Buffy shook her head. "Not this time, I think. And the ride?"

"How about a private jet where you don't have to worry about a seat-mate who snores or has bad breath?" Angel offered.

"You've got yourself a deal," Buffy agreed. She yawned widely. "In that case, could first thing in the morning not be too early?"


	16. Shattering Illusions, Feeding Delusions

100

Shattering Illusions, or Feeding Delusions?

Ariel wheeled her mail cart around, feeling the butterflies in her stomach pick up the pace from fluttering to warp speed as she neared Lindsey's office.

"Morning, princess," Lindsey greeted her as always, then made a face. "I probably shouldn't be talking to you at all, should I?"

"Not if Daddy had his way about it," Ariel agreed ruefully. "But I wouldn't take it too personally if I were you, Lindsey. Uncle Angel isn't too high on his favorites list right now either."

"Well, at least he and I could agree on that point," Lindsey remarked, with no trace of humor whatsoever.

"Mummy's working on Daddy," Ariel informed him. "I'll bet by the end of the month she'll have him back to nothing but the occasional grumble."

"You're an optimist," Lindsey stated. "But I suppose I've kept the carrier from her appointed rounds long enough, huh?" He force a smile.

Ariel forced one as well. It was the first time she could ever recall Lindsey dismissing her, and to her surprise, it hurt. But she could tell he was hurting too, even without reading his mind. "Everything will work out, Lindsey," she promised softly. "Trust me?" She left without waiting for an answer, but he gave her one anyway.

"With my soul, princess," Lindsey murmured.

&&&&&&

'I smell a rat,' Ariel thought at her brother the next night. 'Have you ever known Mummy and Daddy to got out two weekends in a row?'

'We go to Uncle Angel's all the time,' Alaric protested weakly. He honestly thought something was up too, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

'You really don't know?' Ariel was mildly surprised. Of late, she had felt like she was at the center of a male-dominated conspiracy.

Alaric shook his head. 'Dad hasn't been hanging around me too much the last couple of days,' he replied slowly. 'Except when the whole family is together.'

'And that didn't strike you as out of the ordinary?' She suppressed an overwhelming desire to smack her twin upside the head.

'It's been a rough week,' Alaric protested, while mentally kicking himself for missing the clue. 'And now, I have a feeling that the shouting isn't all over yet.'

'So do I, brother mine,' Ariel replied, slipping an arm around her twins waist. Alaric responded in kind, and they stood there for some moments, taking comfort in each other's presence, as they had done since their very conception.

&&&&&&&

Angel waited for the arrival of his godchildren with no small amount of trepidation. The only reason he had agreed to the impending charade was that Spike had convinced him that it was in Ariel's best interests. As he looked around his apartment, though, he wished he hadn't allowed himself to get carried along by Spike's overblown sense of the dramatic. There were pieces of newspaper strewn around as though he'd walked through the place reading it, dropping each section once he'd gleaned whatever information he desired from it. Mixed in was a welter of clothes that suggested he'd undressed en route to the bedroom. The kitchen was a jumble of dirty mugs and empty beer bottles. Peeking out from under a section of newspaper was a copy of Playboy. Angel had questioned Spike over that particular embellishment when they'd set all this up during, when else? their daily sparring session.

"A Playboy, huh?" Angel ducked as Spike's staff swung at his head. Just because they were making plans didn't stop, or even slow down their practice session. "Lifetime subscription?"

Spike rolled his eyes and dodged Angel's next attempt. "Corner newsstand," he explained. "Why would I want to waste my time looking at some anorexic, silicone enhanced dolly when what I've got at home is as good as it gets?" He shook his head and suddenly grinned. "'Sides, can you seem me convincing Rose that I just got it for the articles?"

Despite his current nervy state, Angel smiled at the memory. At least Spike, unlike so many other people, knew when he had a good thing.

He looked down at himself. A t-shirt that was overdue for the washing machine with a large blood stain on the front. His pants were equally disreputable and neglected (it was only after some discussion that both he and Spike had decided that it would be best if he didn't make his appearance in boxers, given the circumstances).

As he heard the doorbell ring, he took a long, hard drink of beer, making sure to swallow plenty of air with it. Then, as he opened the door to admit his godchildren, he belched thunderously.

&&&&&&&

"It was so transparent, Daddy," Ariel informed her father. The Powers family was at the mall, getting the twins ready for school. "There could only have been one reason for Uncle Angel to start acting like that when he never ever had before."

Rose waited to hear what Spike had to say to that. She'd had a few things to say herself when she'd heard of the scheme that Spike and Angel had not only concocted, but implemented as well.

Spike seemed to be concentrating intently on a display in a sporting goods store. "Well.., I..., that is.., we..,"

"Love me and want what's best for me?" Ariel supplied. "Even if you have a bizarre way of showing it." She kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, why don't we split up here? Girls and guys."

&&&&&&

Later, seated in the food court with enormous cups blazoned with the Starbucks logo, Rose commented. "Speaking of transparent, Ariel darling..,"

"I know," Ariel grinned unrepentantly and took a sip of her drink. "But I really need to have a private word with you. 'Ric knows I need to, if not exactly why, and Daddy was just so relieved that I wasn't mad that he'd have agreed to just about anything."

Rose smiled back. "Need I say that they didn't run that particular play by me?" she queried, but the smiled remained, and grew. "If neatness counted, your father and I wouldn't have been together long enough to have you." The smile faded. "It must be very important for you to make an issue of getting me alone."

Ariel nodded, suddenly as sober as her mother had become. "It's just about as important as it gets, Mummy. Really."

Rose's eyes widened, the flicked skywards briefly. "That important?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Mummy," Ariel answered, almost as softly. "That important."

&&&&&&

Spike and Alaric, laden down with shopping bags finally tracked down the womenfolk, still wrapped in conversation.

"Have you two been sitting here talking the whole time we've been here?" Spike demanded indignantly, slumping into the chair next to Rose.

Alaric slung himself into the remaining empty seat at the table. "Couldn't you shop and talk at the same time?" he grumbled. "Now Dad and I are going to have to sit here and wait while you two..," His voice trailed off as a gaggle of junior high girls sauntered past, whispering and giggling.

Spike's eyes had already darted further down the food court. He'd head there was a new place that was going to have onion blossoms. Maybe he'd just check it out while his girls were doing their shopping. "Run along then, pet. We'll be here when you get back." His voice had gotten almost as distant as his sons. It had been ages since he'd had a decent blooming onion.

Rose gave her beloved a fond smile and a kiss on the cheek. Ariel gave her twin a gentle punch on the shoulder. Then, the ladies left to do their shopping.

As they walked away, Alaric suddenly said, "ow!" and rubbed his shoulder.

&&&&&&&

Angel looked around his apartment, which was now back up to public health standards. He sniffed, and thought he could still detect a lingering aroma of cigarette smoke, even though he'd only had one. He didn't know what was the worst part of the plan, Ariel pretending to gag and running to open a window, or the speculative look that Alaric had gotten on his face.

He sank down into a chair with a sigh. The whole evening could have been a scene from a bad farce. You'd think, at his age, he reflected, that he wouldn't be such an innocent. The kids, especially Ariel, had played right along with the scenario, letting him dig himself in deeper and deeper, until she just couldn't do it any more.

"Oh, Uncle Angel." Ariel had flung herself onto the sofa in laughing hysterics.

Alaric's reaction, once he realized the game was up, was considerably more restrained than his sisters. He gave a snort of laughter, though his smile, and the amusement in his eyes never left his face.

But Ariel.., She lay on the sofa, convulsing with laughter. She laughed until her sides ached. She kept laughing until tears were streaming down her face. She kept at it for such a long time that Angel began to be concerned that his goddaughter had crossed the line into actual hysteria.

As if his apparent concern filtered down through her merriment, Ariel slowly began getting herself under control, wiping the tears from her eyes and winding down to the last few hiccupping giggles.

Then, without warning, she'd flung herself on his lap and kissed his cheek.

"Uncle Angel, I love you and Daddy to death," she informed him. "But sometimes the two of you are total retards."

Angel had been torn between being lumped in the same category as Spike (and, on most days, he readily agreed that Spike was a retard), and a sense of relief for the same reason, since putting him and Spike in the same category might suggest that she was no longer viewing him in a romantic context. But he did feel he ought to make entirely sure. He allowed himself the luxury of pulling her into his arms and holding her close. He'd missed that lately, even if he'd agreed with Spike that as Ariel grew older, the physical contact ought to be toned down.

"You know that I've always loved you, and always will, don't you?" he inquired softly. Then, realizing he'd left out an important part, added, "just..,"

"Not in that way," Ariel finished for him. "Yes, I do." She gave him a squeeze and another kiss. "Retard."

&&&&&&

"Working through lunch, Rose?" Wesley asked, as he peeked into her office in passing. "It's not really necessary, there's nothing that's that urgent."

"These are forms I have to fill out before the children go to school," Rose replied wearily, pushing her hair out of her face. With everything else pressing in on them, she'd had to put aiding Ariel on that 'really important' matter on hold until the next weekend. "Wesley, the next time I complain about doing reports, feel free to remind me of this."

"Shouldn't Spike be helping you with this?" her department head suggested. Then, Rose gave him a look, and Wesley remembered that doing paperwork accurately and in a timely manner was not one of Spike's more conspicuous virtues.

Seeing that Wes had gotten the point, Rose went on. "It's not just all the information they want," she complained. "It's how many different forms they want it on." She looked up at him. "Do you really think we need to send them to school?"

Wesley smiled at her. "Yes, Rose, they really do. They need to get out and acclimate themselves to the world as it is outside of Wolfram and Hart."

Rose sighed, and went back to filling out forms.

&&&&&

Lindsey slipped quietly past Corinna, trying to evade her notice. He didn't really want his presence announced to his long time nemesis. He thought he'd made a pretty good job of it, until Corinna, without lifting her head from what she was doing calmly said, "He's free right now, Mr. MacDonald."

With a sigh, Lindsey stopped catfooting it and, mentally gritting his teeth, marched into Angel's office.

Angel didn't lift his head either. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He didn't bother to disguise the sarcasm in his voice.

"I was just curious as to why I'm haven't gotten that transfer," Lindsey muttered, a bit diffidently, hating showing nerves in front of Angel, but unable to help himself. "I figured that by now I'd be serving at an office in Antarctica, if we actually had one there. Certainly somewhere far away and as uncomfortable as possible."

"If it were strictly up to me, you'd be practicing law in the darkest, nastiest hole in the universe," Angel informed him bluntly, confirming at least some of the Texan's suspicions.

"The senior partners?" Lindsey guessed weakly. He rather go to whatever hell Angel could send him to than to attract undue attention from the partners.

"When have I ever made a point of obeying orders from the senior partners?" Angel asked with an irritable sigh. He wasn't going to flat out tell Lindsey, but he wasn't above giving him a hint. "Who around here do you know that just about everyone jumps for when she makes a gentle suggestion?"

"Rose," answered Lindsey promptly. For some reason, that made him feel much better. And, much worse.


	17. Breaking News

104

Breaking News

Rose contemplated her beloved with a bit more trepidation than was her custom. Having to break the news to Spike was a very large part of the reason that Ariel had taken her mother into her confidence about her assignment by The Powers. And, in her heart, Rose knew she was probably the one best suited to the task, but that didn't mean that she was particularly looking forward to it.

What Rose had forgotten, in her reverie, was that Spike was every bit as attuned to her moods as she was to his.

"Deep thoughts, pet?" he inquired gently, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her. "Or just up to something?"

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that Spike had moved until he touched her. The adrenalin surge made her heart flutter like a hummingbird's wings.

Spike chuckled softly. "If anyone was ever a picture of guilt, luv," he remarked. "I know you've had something on your mind ever since you had that little heart to heart with Ariel."

Rose looked, if possible, even guiltier, even though she, of all people, knew that she had absolutely nothing whatsoever to feel guilty about. "But you never asked..," she faltered.

"Maybe because I knew I'd find out in good time." Spike kissed the tip of her nose. "I've had a few years to adjust to the way things work in this family."

"It's not really anything bad, anyway," Rose grumbled, feeling put out with herself for acting as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "But there is some arranging to be done, and.., well.., to be honest, we didn't think you'd react well to it."

Spike sighed heavily. If Rose was willing to go ahead with something she was pretty sure he wouldn't like, then it was probably so important that his likes and dislikes didn't come into it. He valiantly suppressed a surge of irritation and resentment. Considering how his unlife had been since he'd been with Rose, he should be used to the universe not falling into line with his wishes. He'd certainly had his nose rubbed in it often enough. But when he thought of the compensations, Rose and the kids, his bad mood melted away and a contented, if slightly smug expression settled in over his features.

Rose watched the flickering play of emotions on Spike's face, and sincerely hoped that the most recent one would be around long enough that she could work with it. But she still didn't know quite how to begin. It was a rather delicate subject, after all. "Well, it's mostly to do with Ariel," she started, then realized that that particular statement was not exactly news. "But then you knew that," she added, blushing.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did, babe," Spike replied evenly, while wishing his adored wife would get to the point before they failed to get any older.

"She had a visit from..., 'the other side of the family'," Rose faltered on.

Spike rolled his eyes. Well, that would explain the light of his unlife soldiering on with something she knew he wouldn't be thrilled with. "Isn't she a bit young to start following the dictates of destiny?" he asked, knowing that it didn't make a damn bit of difference. But it would have felt strange if he hadn't made at least a token protest.

"It's not a headlong rush.., yet," Rose answered, managing a half-smile. "Just one small task that really can't wait much longer."

"And it has to be her?" Spike queried, getting that sinking feeling in his gut, even though he didn't have all the facts yet.

"Her or Alaric," Rose confirmed. "And, under the circumstances, it really only could be Ariel."

"So, what's the unpleasant bottom line you've been avoiding telling me?" Spike prompted.

"She needs to turn someone," Rose blurted out.

"What?" Of all the things Spike could have imagined, and he had imagined several things already, that particular possibility hadn't occurred to him. "Who?"

"Lindsey MacDonald." Rose barely breathed the name, knowing Spike's attitude towards the love-struck Texan.

Spike groaned aloud and buried his face in his hands. "Why him?" His voiced echoed hollowly beneath the fleshy barrier.

"Because 'they' finally realized that he was aging," Rose replied, without really explaining. "He needs to be stopped from getting any older."

"He's the one, isn't he?" Spike's voice was still muffled by his hands. "He's going to be our bloody son-in-law, isn't he?"

"It rather looks that way," Rose replied as lightly as possible. Then, in an effort to brighten him up in some small way, she added, "At least it wasn't Angel."

Spike groaned again.

&&&&&&&

'Mum's side of the family talked to you?' Alaric felt an unaccustomed twinge of jealousy. The Powers speaking to his sister and not him just didn't seem right. They were twins, dammit, they did things together. And, if one of them did have to go first, why not him? He was the eldest, even if only by a matter of minutes.

Ariel felt his feelings, and, as much as she could, sympathized with them. And it wasn't as if she'd asked for this. She found the whole situation to be profoundly embarrassing. 'Sorry, brother mine,' she apologized mentally. 'But it wasn't my call.'

'I know,' Alaric grumbled. 'I'm not mad at you. For that.'

Ariel gave an audible sigh, but carried on the conversation telepathically. 'Are you still going on about me not telling you that I had a crush on Uncle Angel? And do you really think you would have been happier knowing about it?'

'I would have been happier if you hadn't been keeping secrets from me,' Alaric scolded gently. 'Water under the bridge, I guess. Are you going to tell me what's up now? Or go on blocking part of your mind to me? A mind that I've always been so close to that it's like an extension of my own?'

Ariel was momentarily stunned, not only at the logic, but by the actual maturity of her brother's arguments. And it occurred to her that those arguments aside, it might be a good thing if someone else knew, and no one else understood her better than 'Ric, simply because no one else could.

'You're not going to believe this,' Ariel began in conspiratorial tones. 'I about couldn't, and I was there. I've been told to turn Lindsey.'

Alaric's jaw dropped. 'Does Dad know yet? No, of course Dad doesn't know yet, we've still got a roof.'

Ariel winced at the thought, but couldn't deny that it was a valid theory. 'That's why Mummy's breaking the news to him,' she explained.

'I dunno. I know Mum can get round him better than anybody, but this..,' It blew the circuits in his mind past the point of coherent thought.

For a while, the twins just communed, in mental silence, as well as physical.

&&&&&&&&

Lindsey sat in his apartment, eyes divided between the ticking clock and the silent phone, still mulling over the weirdness (even by Wolfram and Hart standards) that had been his work day.

After the head vamp had dropped the bombshell on him, he had made it abundantly clear that he had said all that he was going to say. When Lindsey had pestered him for answers, Angel had promptly and none too gently effected Lindsey's removal from his office.

Lindsey had slouched down the hallway, feeling picked upon, until he realized that there were other sources of information. With a new vitality in his step, he'd headed towards Lorne's office.

"He'll call you back," Lindsey had assured whoever was on the other end of Lorne's cell phone, as he relieved the empath of that which had become almost another appendage.

"Do you have any idea who that was?" Lorne demanded indignantly, snatching his phone back, but not, as yet pushing any buttons.

"Don't know, don't care," Lindsey drawled with a grin. "I need..,"

"Say no more." Lorne held up a cautionary hand. "You can sing till you're blue in the face, Lindsey, but you're not getting squat from me. Sorry, orders from on high."

Lindsey guessed he should have seen Angel anticipating that move. And if Lorne had gotten the word, so, very likely had all the psychics and seers at the firm. And with the kind of mojo they had for keeping tabs on him, it was probably as much as his life was worth to go to someone outside the confines of Wolfram and Hart. Lindsey considered singing anyway, and seeing if he could pick up anything from the green demon's facial expressions. But as he thought of this, he realized that while he'd been busy pondering the imponderable, Lorne had quietly slipped away.

&&&&&&

There was a soft tap on Ariel's bedroom door.

"You up, baby girl?" Spike asked, even though the strip of light showing under the door proclaimed that she was.

"Yes, Daddy." Ariel could not remember ever feeling so nervous of her father. Not the time they had broken the balcony window, not the time they had spiked both parents drinks with tranquilizers so they could sneak out of the building. Or the time they had.., well, never mind past crimes. Most of them had already been punished, and as for the others, the statute of limitations must surely be up by now. And even the thought of the direst reckoning those youthful crimes had been requited with had ever made her feel like this.

As Spike entered his daughter's room, he fancied he could feel the mental echoes of her unease. And her face, so like her mum's, with guilt writ large upon it, just as Rose's had been. Spike immediately gathered his daughter into his arms and just held her for a few moments. "Don't you know that I've always loved you, and always will, no matter what happens? he inquired gently.

Ariel snuggled closer. "I love you too, Daddy."

Spike dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and loosened his grasp one her, but didn't let her go. "Did you ever stop to think that this isn't any easier for your old man than it is for you?"

Ariel nodded into his shoulder. "I know, Daddy," she mumbled. "That makes it twice as bad."

"At least we can't actually die of embarrassment," Spike muttered, then added, in more normal tones, "And I strongly suspect that your 'other' aunts and uncles could make things even more unpleasant for us if we didn't fall into line with their plans."

"I hadn't thought of that," Ariel confessed, finally disengaging herself from her father. She sat on the bed and patted the spot beside her, which Spike assumed with alacrity. "What does it fell like, Daddy? Turning someone, I mean."

"It's very.., intimate," Spike replied slowly, censoring himself as he went. "For a little while, it's like being part of the other person. And having them be part of you."

"Sort of like 'Ric and me?" Ariel suggested tentatively. They'd been so much a part of each other when they were younger that some people had thought of them almost as a single entity. They hadn't really begun to assert the separate personalities they already had until lately.

Spike frowned. He supposed that might come close to it, but fact was, even he and Rose weren't entirely sure of the precise strength of their children's bond. And the image he'd always had in his head for the unique, short-lived closeness one felt with someone one was turning was more along the lines of...,

"Or maybe more like when you and Mummy are making love?" his daughter suggested.

While he wasn't certain, Spike didn't think she'd actually been reading his mind. But they'd always been a close-knit family, very attuned to each other. Which didn't always make things easier. And, as many parents before him down through the ages, Spike raised his face to the heavens and asked the eternal question.

"Why me?"


	18. Making a Good Start

110

Making a Good Start

The weekend finally passed, for some more quickly than others. For Lindsey, who it seemed was going to be the last to know, it had been like the Chinese water torture, but longer. He felt as if he'd been waiting all weekend for the bomb to drop. He still felt that way, as if there was an undetonated explosive right over his head. In his imagination, he could almost hear the counter relentlessly ticking over, but he didn't know how many seconds he had left.

&&&&&

The daily sparring session had arrived, and Spike greeted it eagerly, feeling a real need to work out a few issues. Angel barely had time to shuck his jacket and shirt and pick up his staff before Spike sprang to the attack.

For a while, there was nothing but the sound of wood against wood, as Spike pressed an attack that Angel was hard put to defend himself against.

"You been drinking coffee again?" Angel asked his grandchilde when he'd had a chance to regain his equilibrium.

"Hell no," Spike answered definitely. "Last time, I was up for a week straight." He paused, trying to arrange his thoughts. No matter how long or close an association they had, there were always would be barriers between them. And one of those barriers was that Spike found it almighty difficult to ask his grandsire for a favor. But, when it came to his nearest and dearest, Spike was willing to swallow his pride. There were times when he thought he'd swallowed more of that particular commodity than the ruby red fluid that kept him alive over the past decade or so. "I need.., Well.., that is.., Ariel needs..," Spike sputtered to a stop.

"Ow!" Angel didn't duck fast enough and took a glancing blow to the side of the head. "I thought that the crush business was all settled."

"It is," Spike replied, suddenly finding himself on the defensive physically, as he had been verbally. "Has Rose filled you in on any of the recent doings?" he asked hopefully. It might not be quite so bad if his beloved had laid some groundwork.

Angel shook his head. "Other than telling me that I couldn't send Lindsey away and hinting all kinds of unhealthy mayhem if he suffered any physical damage. I'm completely in the dark."

"I reckon that you've probably figured out that the in-laws are taking a hand in things," Spike began.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Angel intoned sarcastically. He still felt that there was something not quite right about Spike referring to The Powers That Be as the in-laws, even though, technically, that was about as close to the truth as it could be. "Will you get on with it, junior?"

"Screw you, gramps," Spike retorted reflexively. "They want Ariel to turn that MacDonald git."

Angel was so flabbergasted by the bald statement that he forgot to keep his guard up, and ended up bouncing off the far wall. But the manner in which he sprang back to his feet said that no serious damage had been done. "I can't have heard that right," he muttered, rubbing a sore shoulder.

"If you heard me say that Ariel is supposed to turn Lindsey MacDonald into a vampire," Spike said, dropping the attack and leaning on his own staff. "Then you heard it right."

"So why bring me into it?" Angel inquired reasonably. "You've turned your share of people. You can tell her how it's done."

"I haven't since I got my soul back," Spike admitted. "Well, except for when I was being controlled by the First, and seeing as how I was more than a bit out of my head at the time, I don't think that really counts."

"Does it matter?" Angel queried irritably. "Good or evil, the mechanics are the same."

"But are the feelings?" Spike asked, almost gently, and with a real sense of curiosity on his own part. "Because that's what Ariel really wants to know. And I can't tell her."

"It was only one time," Angel protested feebly. "And, it was something of an emergency."

"I remember," Spike remarked. "I was there, even if I was still evil."

"I was so wrapped up in the situation and doing what had to be done that I didn't really concentrate on what I was doing," Angel prevaricated, becoming lost in a less than pleasant memory.

"Bollocks," Spike said rudely. "It's not something you can just not notice. It's too bloody intense."

Angel sighed. He should have known that he couldn't bluff Spike of all people on this particular issue. "I tried to block it out of my awareness," he admitted. "I was afraid that if I didn't, I might..,"

"Enjoy it?" Spike supplied. "Afraid of being like a junkie returning to his addiction?"

Angel nodded, looking away. Sometimes Spike was so incredibly insensitive that it was a total shock to the system when he showed just how perceptive he could be.

"S'okay," Spike mumbled in a rare show (towards Angel, at least) of compassion. "I'll just tell her that it's something you'd rather keep private. They're beginning to appreciate privacy," he added, with the ghost of a smile.

"They always did," Angel commented, pulling himself together. "Just not other people's." He paused briefly. "Look, Spike, tell her that I'd rather not talk about it, but if it's that important to her, I will."

Spike still looked far from happy. "If it's got to be done," he groused. "I wish that you or me could do it. Spare her the awkwardness and stuff."

"But it's got to be her," Angel countered. "Because she can do what we can't. Make him a vampire without him losing his soul."

&&&&&&&

"Lindsey? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ariel felt so vulnerable on an emotional level, that she subconsciously reacted on a physical level, barely sticking her head around the door of Lindsey's office.

Lindsey saw the serious expression on her face, and heard it in her voice, and knew that no wasn't really an option here. Not this time. "Come in and take a load off, princess." He hated the thought of her being so uncomfortable around him when her natural openness was one of the qualities he prized most in her. "You can have all the minutes you need."

Ariel slithered into a chair, wishing that she'd been able to talk Mummy into breaking the news, but upon that subject Rose had been adamant. The task had been laid on her, and this was part of it.

The phone rang. Lindsey snatched it up and said, "Hold all my calls." Things were complicated enough without interruptions. "Sorry, princess. It won't happen again until our business is finished."

Ariel didn't know why, but for some reason, the phrase 'our business' coming from Lindsey's mouth produced and unfamiliar, but very pleasant tingle.

"Thank you, Lindsey," she acknowledged the gesture gratefully. "Before I get started, I guess I should tell you that Mummy and Daddy both know about this. So you won't think that I'm sneaking behind their backs," she added.

"I see," Lindsey murmured. He didn't, really, but right now, he'd try to turn one-handed backflips if it would just put her at ease.

"If you do, then you're one up on me." Ariel's tension did relax a few notches, and a half-smile stole across her face.

Lindsey beamed back at her. "I was full of it," he admitted. "But it was worth it to see you smile." He sobered up. "But you say that your folks approve of whatever it is that you're building up to?"

Ariel's forehead wrinkled, in thought, rather than vamping out. "I'm not sure that approval is the exact right word," she confessed. "More like, that's the way things are, so go with the flow."

"Because you can't argue with the tides," Lindsey agreed. "Just how serious a tide, princess?"

"Tidal wave?" Ariel suggested. Her eyes flickered upward in what had become the fang gangs private i.d. for The Powers That Be.

Tidal wave sounded appropriate to Lindsey. He felt like he'd just been hit by one.

&&&&&&

Emotions ranged from awe, to open-mouthed disbelief, and in a few cases, jealousy inspired scorn, when the limousine came to pick Alaric and Ariel up from their first day of school. But they'd already made some new friends, and a select group of these escorted them to the ostentatious vehicle.

"So, you guys coming to the end of the summer party at my house Saturday?" one of the males in the group inquired. His question had been directed towards both of the twins, but his eyes were on Ariel.

"I'll ask the 'rents," Alaric answered.

"I can't" Ariel demurred. "I have to turn a guy into a vampire."

"Yea, right," one of the girls giggled. "Must be a pretty hot date."

"Something like that," Ariel replied evasively. "See you guys tomorrow, huh?"

&&&&&&

"The limo, Uncle Angel?" Alaric demanded of the 'chauffeur' as soon as they climbed in. "You seem to have missed the brass band."

"I thought it might be kind of neat," Angel offered lamely, realizing that he had put his foot in the extremely complex adult/teen relationship. "Guess not, huh?"

"So not," Ariel confirmed. "But those nanobots that Aunt Fred turned out in the lab absolutely worked like a charm."

"Yeah, we could stand out in bright sunlight and it was like being under a necro-glass dome," Alaric enthused. "Maybe you and Dad could..,"

"No," Angel cut in abruptly. "We're creatures of the night, you two included. We just needed something that could help you tolerate the sun while you're finishing you're education."

"And something that Aunt Fred could inject into us means we can't lose it or have it taken away," Ariel finished softly. "You guys put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?"

"Well, if the two of you burst into flames on school property, it might cause talk," Angel replied, trying to lighten it up. "So, how was your day?"

"And that's why you really played chauffeur, isn't it?" Alaric accused with a smirky grin. "Because you couldn't wait to find out."

Angel grinned back. "So give," he invited.

"I haven't even seen my computer science teacher yet," Ariel remarked. "The first day of school and we had a sub. I don't even know the guy's name because there was a staple in my schedule there, and it ripped the paper."

"I got invited to join a band." Alaric jumped in to take his turn. "They said it's hard to find someone who can play the keyboard. And they got really excited when they found out that I can write music too."

"How did the special vitamin drink story go over at lunch?" Angel asked. It was something that had fretted the adults concerned.

"Nobody even questioned it," Ariel replied, distractedly flipping through some papers in her folder.

"And I was really glad we had it too," Alaric declared. "Because the food they serve in that cafeteria was worse than what we had when we were in England."

"It was disgusting," Ariel said more succinctly.

Angel smiled. It looked like the kids were going to do all right in school.

&&&&&&

"There." Rose put the last candle into place. "Doesn't that look nice?"

"It looks great," Lindsey agreed weakly. Somehow, it didn't seem right, having Rose decking out his apartment this way. "But do you think it's appropriate?" he ventured.

"What's wrong with it?" Rose inquired, reviewing her handiwork.

"Well, if you'll pardon me for saying so," Lindsey mumbled diffidently. "Do you think a romantic dinner for two is.., the right setting?"

Rose smiled at him. "Then perhaps you could tell me what, in your experience, is the proper setting," she suggested. "It's a unique situation, Lindsey, but it is, after all, by way of a rite of passage for both of you. I think that would demand a certain sense of occasion."

"It certainly has that," he admitted. And he had to agree with Rose's reasoning, but still it just didn't sit quite right. "But..,"

"And I know you won't do anything.., ungentlemanly," Rose declared softly, patting his hand. "Now, why don't you run along and tidy up, Lindsey. Spike will be bringing Ariel here shortly."

"Yes ma'am," the lawyer sighed. What else could he say? The only option he could see that he had was to cooperate with the inevitable.


	19. Fledgling Flight

115

Fledgling Flight

When Lindsey emerged from the suggested 'tidying up', Rose was gone, and Ariel was there. He stopped and gaped for a moment.

It was the first time in years that he'd seen the object of his fixation in anything other than jeans, but there she was now, in a dressy dress, somewhat demure for her boisterous personality, but she looked incredibly beautiful. Her waving hair hung loose like a curtain of silk, instead of pulled back in a pony-tail as it usually was. As he got a little closer, he caught a trace of a scent which blended in with her own pheromones into something truly intoxicating.

"Your mother's perfume?" he asked, trying to stave off his jangling nerves. He was the older of the two, he needed to keep his cool.

Ariel shook her head. "Mum wears rose scented perfume," she replied. "Mine's called eternity."

"Appropriate," Lindsey murmured. "In both cases."

"If nothing else, it should help people tell us apart," Ariel quipped lightly. "I think we're going to be almost identical when I'm finished growing up."

"I can't see anyone making that kind of mistake," Lindsey remarked. "You hungry?" He realized that sounded somewhat less gracious than the setting Rose had taken such pains with suggested, but unfortunately, he couldn't unsay it.

"Mummy really went over the top with this, didn't she?" Ariel observed.

"Maybe it's just her way of dealing with it," Lindsey suggested.

"Could be," Ariel agreed. "I think Daddy's was beating the crap out of Uncle Angel in their daily sparring sessions."

"And how are you dealing with it, princess?" Lindsey asked softly.

Ariel turned away, looked out the window, much as Rose was wont to do when agitated. "My tummy is full of butterflies, and my hands are shaking," she admitted. "And I know that Mummy meant well, but all this.., I think it's too much, Lindsey."

"The way I see it," Lindsey drawled in soothing tones. "This is our show. We can appreciate your mother's thoughtfulness and thank her for it, but maybe we should just go with something that makes us more comfortable."

"Really?" Ariel turned back to face him, eyes sparkling. "I was really kind of hoping you would say that, Lindsey, because I think all this..," she waved a hand at Rose's handiwork, "is just making me more nervous."

"Like finding yourself in a five-star restaurant in blue jeans?" Lindsey suggested. "What say we hit the town and grab a burger and fries somewhere? And then maybe see if there's a movie worth seeing?" Hopefully it would be mundane enough to put her, both of them, actually, at ease.

"How about a chili dog and onion rings instead?" Ariel suggested with a smile. "And ice cream afterwards?"

"Whatever the lady wants," Lindsey answered, feeling some of the tension ease out of him as he could feel it leaving her. He bowed her towards the door.

&&&&&&&

"Normally, you'd be happy to have me all to yourself for a little while," Rose remarked, a little reproachfully. Although she herself wasn't feeling all that romantic at the moment, she was sure that Spike could take care of that little detail if he chose to. Right now, what was foremost on her mind was getting him to stop pacing the floor.

"That was different," Spike muttered. He had so much adrenalin pumping at the moment that he felt like he could take on a whole battalion of demons single-handed.

"Darling, they're growing up, this is going to be happening." Rose, as usual, was the voice of reason, and that was all she was going on currently. She was nervy enough as it was, and adding Spike's pacing to the mix was about to send her right up the wall. "They're sensible people, and they both have their cell phones with them."

"Turned off," Spike growled, forgetting himself.

"Spike you didn't!" Rose's voice was indignant now. "You promised that you wouldn't check up on them. Suppose they hadn't turned them off? Having you call them like that might make them feel like you don't trust them."

Spike had the good graces to look abashed. "Well.., I..," he mumbled. Then, his irrepressible grin appeared. "It's a fair cop."

At least he'd stopped pacing for the moment. Rose went to him and put her hands on his shoulders, looking deep into his eyes. "It's not easy for me either," she said softly. "But we have to let them grow up, love."

"You're right, as always," Spike agreed ruefully. He gazed back into his beloved's eyes and lost himself in their depths for an eternal moment. He pulled her into his arms and rested his head on hers, just basking in the feel of her, the scent of her, and felt a degree of calm return.

Rose snuggled into him, feeling much the same things. She loved her children dearly, but Spike was her anchor, the center of her universe, and the one person who could always make everything right for her.

Spike kissed the top of her head, that being all he could reach this close if she wasn't actually looking up at him. "Well, there's the two of us with all this energy to burn, and it's still early..," he said suggestively, starting to move his hands in ways that made clear exactly what he was suggesting.

Rose looked up at him with a smile. "I love you, Spike."

&&&&&&&

"You know," Ariel remarked, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin, hoping she was getting all the chili off. "When you made that analogy about jeans in a five-star restaurant, I wasn't thinking that could work the other way too. We're a little overdressed, aren't we?"

"Just a tad," Lindsey conceded. He could have taken off his jacket and tie, but that would have made Ariel even more conspicuous, so he kept them on. "But this is L.A., princess. There are weirder people than us here."

"I wouldn't take any large bets on that," Ariel grinned back. "And I guess if you don't mind that people are staring, I don't either."

"Glad to hear it," he answered. "Are we still on for that movie?"

Ariel shook her head. "Let's just walk and talk," she suggested. "There's a park nearby. We could just talk, and watch the moon come up, and the fireflies come out."

"A moonlit walk in the park?" Lindsey observed. "Sounds romantic."

Ariel ducked her head quickly, as though to hide a blush, even though she didn't. "I didn't mean it that way," she replied, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "I just don't feel like being inside right now. Almost like what is going on is just too big to fit inside four walls."

Lindsey nodded in understanding and offered her his arm.

&&&&&&

"Aren't you having a good time?" The girl asking the question looked vaguely familiar, Alaric thought she might be in one of his classes.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Alaric replied. "It's just that my eyes were starting to water from all the smoke. I thought I'd just step out to get some fresh air." A rickety car roared by, pouring blue smoke from its exhaust pipe. "At least, that was the plan," he added, nodding at the car.

"Try finding fresh air in L.A.," his companion giggled. "You're a new student, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh," Alaric answered. "We were always home schooled before."

"We?" she echoed. "Do you mean that girl you were hanging with at school? She's not your girlfriend or something, is she?"

"She's my twin sister," Alaric explained.

Before the girl could probe further, one of Alaric's new friends stuck his head out the door. "Hey, 'Ric, we're about to have a jam session. You want to sit in?"

&&&&&&&

Lindsey surreptitiously glanced at his watch, hating himself for it, while recognizing the necessity. "I hate to say it, princess, but it's getting late, and we do have some business to attend to." That sounded a little tacky, even to him, so he tried to lighten it with a little levity. "I think you'll have to take a rain check on the ice cream."

"Don't think I won't hold you to that either," Ariel warned. "But you're right, it is getting late, we have things to do, and I hate to think of how crazy it would make Daddy if I were late."

"You're not the only one," Lindsey countered. As he opened the car door for her, he added. "It's unknown territory for me too, if that helps any."

Ariel threw her arms around him in a quick hug. "The blind leading the blind," she quipped. But the butterflies had come back with a vengeance.

&&&&&&&

Rose nestled into Spike's arms, luxuriating in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She sighed contentedly. "It never does get boring, does it?"

"Where most women sate, you make more hungry," Spike paraphrased. "No, luv, I don't think making love with you could ever be boring." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "aside from being wonderful on it's own merits, it's a helluva tension breaker too, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Rose murmured.

Spiked kissed her. "Somehow I thought you were all cool and collected over Ariel turning that MacDonald gi..," He broke off as Rose's elbow connected with his ribcage. "Lindsey," he amended.

"Lindsey has been captivated by Ariel almost since he met her," Rose remarked. "Even to the point where he dared to defy Santa Claus to get her home."

"It's not her life I'm worried about," Spike muttered.

"He wouldn't do anything to harm her," Rose stated firmly, putting extra emphasis on the word anything.

"The why were you in such a lather, babe?" Spike inquired uselessly, for as the words left his lips, the other shoe dropped. "You weren't worried about Ariel at all. You were worried about Alaric."

"We don't know the people he's with or anything about them," Rose observed, feeling the tension begin to mount again. To her surprise, Spike's reaction was a chuckle.

"We're a pair to draw to, aren't we, pet?" he murmured. "Look how we're acting."

"Like normal parents?" Rose ventured, a small smile tugging at her lips as she began to see the humor of the situation also.

"I'd wash your mouth out with soap for that," Spike began menacingly, then chuckled again before adding, "'cept I can't stand the taste of soap."

And then he kissed her soundly.

&&&&&&&

They were back at Lindsey's apartment now, seated on the sofa, with Ariel snuggled against him and his arm around her, more by way of comfort than romance.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you, Lindsey," Ariel mumbled, snuggling into him. And not just for comfort either, it kept him from seeing her face.

"Honey, Angel cut off one of my hands once," Lindsey replied. "I doubt if this will hurt as much as that did."

Ariel sat up suddenly, eyes wide, and Lindsey realized that he had put his foot in it.

"It's okay." Lindsey forced a little laugh and held up his hands as though in surrender. "See? Almost as good as new."

"Uncle Angel did that to you?" Ariel whispered, still aghast.

"It was a long time ago, princess," Lindsey soothed. "And I wasn't fighting on the right side then." She still hadn't entirely lost the horrified look though, and Lindsey could tell that if he didn't want the whole night to become a bad memory for Ariel, he was going to have to do something that went very much against the grain for him, defend Angel.

"Ariel honey, don't," Lindsey pleaded softly, and reaching out to gently stroke one of her cheeks. "Fighting the bad guys is what he does, and I was one of the bad guys. I worked for Wolfram and Hart before Angel took it over. He did what he had to do."

"Are you saying there's no hard feelings?" Ariel's voice was so low he could barely make out the words, but Lindsey was pretty sure he could detect at least a trace of sarcasm.

Lindsey tipped her face up, forcing her to look at him. "We'll never be best buddies," he admitted. "But we do have on thing in common. We'd both rather lose a hand than see anything happen to you."

"Oh Lindsey." Ariel threw her arms around him.

Lindsey hugged her back, wondering if he should bring himself to mention the passage of time yet again. Before he came to a decision, Ariel shifted in his arms slightly, and he felt a sharp pain in his neck.


	20. Saturday Night

120

Saturday Night

"Spike?"

"Mmph?"

"Darling, are you asleep?"

"Mmrph."

"William, get up!" Rose's voice took on a decided tone of annoyance. "It's getting late, and you have to pick Alaric up from his party."

Spike peeled his reluctant eyelids open. "It's that late?" uttering his first coherent words of the conversation.

"Yes, dear, it is," Rose replied in carefully measured tones. She was already half dressed.

"You could just laze about in bed, sweetheart," Spike observed. "You don't have to come with. And why is it me that has to get Alaric and Angel gets Ariel? Couldn't we switch?"

Rose sighed in exasperation. "I'll call Angel and arrange if it will get you out of that bed and getting yourself decent."

"I'm up, I'm moving, see?" Spike demonstrated, hopping nimbly out of bed.

"I'll make the call," Rose promised. But now, she was torn between which one of them she wanted to go with. Angel, to see if Alaric was all right, or Spike, to make sure he didn't find (or fabricate) some reason to kill Lindsey.

&&&&&&&&

They ended up meeting in the parking garage.

"You're sure about this now, Rose?" Angel inquired.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Don't get her started," he advised. "I think she's already asked for, and thankfully, been denied, permission to be in two places at once."

"Not exactly," Rose demurred, without elaborating. flushing crimson. "I think Lindsey would die before he'd let anything happen to Ariel, but if you see so much as one strand of her hair out of place.., well, that's why I'm going with you."

"I'm not sure I like being cast in the role of the heavy-handed father," Spike complained. Then he noticed both Rose and Angel were giving him exactly the same look.

"Darling," Rose said softly, laying a gentle hand on Spike's arm. "I still remember the look that was on your face the first time you saw them. It hasn't changed perceptibly in the past thirteen years." She smiled, a little sadly. "I miss the small children that they were too, but we need to just enjoy them at every stage of their lives."

Spike slipped his arm around Rose's waist. "Got me a smart one this time." He looked at Angel as though daring him to disagree.

Angel shook his head, with an impish gleam in his eye. "No one questions her intelligence, Spike. Just her taste in men."

Spike aimed a punch at Angel's arm, which his grandsire easily eluded.

"Boys, stop," Rose ordered firmly, then added with her own mischievous look, "Why should I miss having small children around when I've got the two of you?"

Spike looked a little sheepish, but Angel burst out laughing. "C'mon, Rose," he said. "Let's go get the kids.., er, young people."

"A sound plan, Liam," Rose agreed, a bit dryly. She had been beginning to wonder if she was every going to get the two of them moving.

"I'll bring him back in one piece, Rose," Angel promised. He was almost to his car when he realized something was missing. "Hey, how about giving me the address?"

&&&&&

Angel grimaced in discomfort as the opening of the door blew a gust of smoke right into his face, and his vampire's nose noted the fact that it wasn't all from regular cigarettes, either. Not that any of these kids were old enough to be smoking legally anyway. He decided to hold his peace for now, so as not to embarrass Alaric, but he was determined that he and his godson were going to have a serious chat on the trip home.

A vacuous-eyed young girl with hair in more colors than there are in the rainbow (in fact, most of those colors had never been seen in any rainbow), chewing a massive wad of gum, looked at him speculatively without ceasing her masticating.

"I'm here to pick someone up," Angel explained, without mentioning a name. He didn't want to get himself in dutch the way he had with the limo.

Heavily made up eyes blinked, and then the door swung open wider.

Angel started to take a step forward, then stopped. The door opening wasn't enough of an invitation. It had to be verbal. But he was beginning to wonder if the girl spoke at all. "May I come in?" he inquired politely.

&&&&&

As soon as Spike pressed the doorbell to Lindsey's apartment, Ariel yanked open the door.

"Daddy, please come check on Lindsey, I think he's dead." Ariel followed this worry-making statement with, surprisingly, a giggle.

"Of course he's dead, baby girl," Spike soothed. "Except for you and your brother, that's how it works."

"Please, daddy?" Ariel pleaded, then took a step toward him, tripped and would have gone flat on her face if Spike hadn't caught her.

Rose started to open her mouth to question her daughter. She had so believed that Lindsey wouldn't do anything to Ariel's detriment. But intoxication was the only thing she could think of to explain Ariel's bizarre behavior. But before she could say anything, Spike caught her eye and shook his head. That alone was enough to calm her. If Spike wasn't raging and threatening to rearrange Lindsey's anatomy, there must be another explanation.

"Why don't you go and take a look at Lindsey anyway, darling?" Rose suggested. "Just to make Ariel feel better."

Spike nodded approvingly. "Okay," he replied. "I'll take a look at lawyer boy and see that if nothing else, he's in a position that won't have him rising tomorrow night with a crick in his neck." He grinned at Rose as he passed Ariel to her, as the girl still seemed to be having some problems in the equilibrium department. "Waking from the dead with a stiff neck can tend to make a bloke a little cranky."

Rose gave him her warmest smile, the one that was his, and his alone.

If Spike had had a tail, he would have been wagging it.

&&&&&

The girl had managed to mumbled a vague invitation before she disappeared, and it seemed to be enough, Angel was in. Now he was cautiously picking his way between groups of kids, some of whom were doing things that sorely tempted him to destroy the cool uncle image he'd been working so hard to cultivate. Where were the parents of this kid anyway?

Music started playing in the next room, and Angel winced automatically until he realized it wasn't whatever the current craze was. Moreover, it wasn't a c.d., it was live music. After listening intently for a moment, he recognized the tune. "Mama Told Me Not to Come." An appropriate song for this party, he reflected. And unless there was a delinquent adult playing that keyboard, he was willing to be that there was only one person here who would know that song. It looked like he'd located his nephew.

&&&&&

"He'll be just fine, Ariel," Spike repeated.., again. "But he's not going anywhere until tomorrow night. So he's not going to come to any harm where he is unless the bleeding building burns down."

"And it's not going to," Rose added firmly, before Ariel could start worrying on that score. At least when she wasn't giggling and giddy. "Spike?"

Spike decided, very quickly, that it was better to allay his beloved's fear immediately, even though he had been going to wait until they were alone.

"First time euphoria," he said shortly. "I didn't mention it, because it doesn't happen to everyone."

"How long will it last?" Rose queried. She glanced in the back seat, and said, "Ariel, put on your seatbelt."

Spike shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "Didn't get it myself."

"That's not very useful," Rose grumbled.

"Sorry, luv, but it's the best I can do," Spike apologized. "If she's not back to normal in the morning, we'll give Wyndham-Pryce a buzz and see if he's heard anything about it in the lore."

In the back seat, Ariel giggled again.

&&&&&

"Dude, that's so cool," one of the kinds in the tangle around the musicians enthused. "Where did you hear that?"

Alaric finished the final chord. "Oh, I kind of grew up with music," he replied modestly. "And between my mum, my Uncle Lorne, and my tutor, I kind of got exposed to a pretty decent variety of music."

"I've never heard that before," remarked another voice. "Who does it?"

"Did it," Alaric corrected. "This one goes back a ways, I don't remember how much, or what group."

"Try Three Dog Night in the '70's," Angel suggested, stepping forward.

"Wow, that's old," commented one of the pimply young voices.

Angel rolled his eyes and let his godson hustle him out before one of them embarrassed themselves.

&&&&&&&

Spike deposited Ariel, who was by now, half in and half out of it, in her bed. "Why don't you get her all tucked in for the night, babe?" he suggested to Rose. "I'll wait out in the living room for the other half of the dynamic duo. 'Side's that, I can ask my poncey grandsire if he has any more 411 about first time euphoria than I do."

"411?" Rose murmured to Spike's retreating back.

"Information, mummy," Ariel mumbled. "Where are we?"

"Home, darling," Rose replied, going to her daughter immediately. "How does getting into your nightgown sound?"

"Too complicated," Ariel slurred, curling up to her pillow.

Rose sighed, and began undressing her daughter and reflecting that it was a chore that had been much easier when the girl had been small.

&&&&&

"Was there anyone even remotely resembling an adult at that party?" Angel asked, fighting to keep his tones even as he put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb.

"No," Alaric conceded. "But I swear I didn't know, Uncle Angel. It turned out that that the only chaperone, if you want to call her that, was the guy's older sister, and she's only 17."

"Where was she?" Angel demanded. Admittedly, all of them had looked painfully young to him, but he really didn't think he'd seen anyone at that party much older than his godchildren.

"Having her own party downstairs," Alaric replied, and Angel was somewhat surprised to hear overtones of disgust in his voice. "Don't people care what their kids do? Anything could have happened there tonight, and I think a lot of it did."

"I thought you and your sister considered yourselves old enough not to need supervision," Angel commented, suppressing a grin. It had been a pretty epic battle, and not all that long ago.

"I remember that argument," Alaric conceded, rubbing an arm in remembered pain from the drubbing Spike had given him and his sibling. "But I think if Mum and Dad hadn't acted the way they did, we would have felt abandoned."

"I always knew you and your sister were smart," Angel answered. "And that last remark proves it. So why have you two been going to such pains, and I use the word pains, advisedly, to act like stereotypical teenagers?"

"Was it really that bad?" Alaric queried.

"It was that bad," Angel confirmed. "So why?"

"You ought to know," Alaric half-mumbled. "I mean, people have been going on about it long enough, about how the only people we've really come into contact with were the ones at Wolfram and Hart. And here we were, getting ready to go to school and not having the slightest idea how to fit in."

Angel took advantage of the fact that they were stopped at a red light to close his eyes for a brief moment. "You were afraid that people would think you were freaks, weren't you?" He still remembered years back, how badly that word had hurt Ariel, and all the worse that it had come from his own lips.

Alaric was staring intently out the window, as though the scenery were suddenly of great interest. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I'm surprised we got any of the lessons the first day, we were so busy reading the surface thoughts of everyone around us, trying not to make complete asses of ourselves."

Angel wasn't sure what to say to that. The twins had always been so self-assured, that no one had given a thought to the possibility that they might have misgivings about fitting in. Or, even that they would care. And the subject was obviously an uncomfortable one, so he decided to let up on it. "So," he said conversationally. "Do you want to go home? Or see if your folks will let you spend the night at my place?" He glanced at Alaric and still saw no positive reaction. "Bet you can't beat me at Demolition Derby."

The droop went out of Alaric's body. "You haven't yet," he shot back. "Are you just a sucker for punishment, Uncle Angel?"


	21. Back to Normal?

127

Back to Normal?

Spike looked up as a weary-looking Rose entered the room.

"Took you long enough," he remarked, patting the sofa beside him, and pausing while Rose got snuggled against him. "Everything all right in there?"

Rose sighed heavily, but managed to summon up a wan smile. "Yes, dearest. But dressing and undressing a semi-conscious body isn't as easy at thirteen as it was at three."

Spike smiled, a little sadly, and kissed the top of her head. "Didn't I always tell you, you were going to be a good mum?"

Rose cuddled against him, but still seemed a bit taut. Spike didn't realize how much so until the doorbell chimed, and Rose flew to answer it almost too fast for his eyes to follow.

Rose flung open the door, and unceremoniously yanked Alaric and Angel in.

"Hey, take it easy, mum," Alaric cautioned laughingly, but hugging his mother back all the same. "Some of that stuff is attached."

"Yeah, Rose," Angel added in similar tones, and also getting a hug in. "Sorry it took so long to get here, but L.A. traffic on a Saturday night..," He lifted his hands in surrender.

Rose hardly seemed to register the explanation. "Alaric, darling, what's that funny smell on your clothes?"

Alaric felt a sudden surge of panic. He'd known he'd have to explain to his father, but somehow this was worse. And he'd never expected his mother's human nose to catch the lingering aroma. "Well.., er..,"

"Some of the kids at the party were smoking things they shouldn't have been," Angel put in smoothly. "At least he had sense enough not to join them."

Rose mulled it over, and after a silent exchange with Spike, decided to let it go for the time being. She gave her son a kiss on the cheek, but didn't hug him again. "Go put those clothes in the laundry right away, dear," she ordered.

"Yes, mum," Alaric replied, returning the kiss. He also added a telepathic thank you to his uncle for covering his back.

Angel would have left then, but Spike finally levered his lithe form off the sofa.

"A word with you, gramps," Spike suggested. He glanced at Rose and thought maybe it might be best if he heard things first, just in case. "Hey, luv, can I impose on you to get me a cold one?" He looked inquiringly at Angel.

"Sure, why not?" Angel wasn't sure quite what was going on, but if Spike were planning to tear him a new one, or try to, anyway, he didn't think he'd offer him a beer first.

As soon as Rose was out of easy earshot, Spike, lowering his voice asked, "What do you know about first time euphoria?"

"First time euphoria?" Angel was puzzled for a moment. "Why do you want to.., oh, Ariel?"

Spike nodded. "Giggling at everything, tripping over her own feet. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was drunk as a lord."

"Wow." Angel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It didn't happen to you, did it?"

"Nope. I was so pumped up on being a vampire the first couple of decades that anything else would have been gilding the lily," Spike answered. "Which is why I'm asking you."

"It's actually pretty similar to a human being drunk," Angel replied. "I did have it."

"Define pretty similar," Spike suggested pointedly. "Rose was wanting to know how long it was going to last."

Angel grinned. "Well, Ariel isn't going to be feeling so great in the morning," he remarked. "But nothing a few hours with an ice pack and some aspirin won't help."

Spike grinned back. "Hangover and all," he observed. He looked up as Rose entered. "Thought you'd gotten lost, pet."

"I could see that you wanted to speak privately," Rose said solemnly, giving them each a beer and a kiss on the cheek. "I respected that. But now you can tell me how long that euphoria is going to affect Ariel."

"She's probably going to be feeling a bit delicate in the morning, luv," Spike answered cautiously, not wanting to upset her.

"How delicate?" Rose inquired, just as cautiously.

"She'll probably have the great-grandfather of all headaches," Angel told her. "And I wouldn't push any food on her if she doesn't feel like eating. She ought to be back in form by tomorrow evening."

Rose frowned slightly, but saw no other options, so decided to relax and make the best of it. "What about Lindsey?" she asked, now that the worst of her fears on her daughter's behalf had been allayed.

"What about him?" Spike slouched back to his seat and took a swig of his beer. "We already went though that with Ariel, sweetheart. He'll be fine where he is."

"But don't you think someone should be there for him when he wakes up?" Rose suggested gently. "Why make the experience any more traumatic for him than necessary?"

"And he'll be hungry," Spike observed. "Did anyone think to lay in some supplies for him?"

"I did," Rose half-mumbled, flushing. "But he might not be thinking too clearly..,"

"He probably won't," Angel agreed. He looked at Spike. "Flip you for it?"

Spike considered. "You go," he decided. "Then call when you're sure he's himself again. Ariel is going to want to make sure for herself that he's ok. Even through the euphoria she was worried about him, afraid that he was well and truly dead. And I don't think anything I said meant a thing to her. Not where it counts." He stopped for a drink, and Angel stepped in to finish the thought.

"She's going to need to see that he's all right with her own eyes to be able to believe it in her heart," he said softly. "You've got a great pair of kids."

"Ariel, I'll grant you," Spike conceded. "But what in hell was Alaric thinking of? At the first whiff of pot he should have been on his phone, calling for a ride home."

"But he didn't touch the stuff," Angel pointed out softly. "He could have bought himself a whole lot of trouble tonight, and he didn't." He suddenly grinned. "And I think it all goes hand in hand with why he and his sister have been such..," he paused a moment, eyes flicking towards the hall that led off to the rest of the apartment, ".., pains in the ass lately."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that," Rose protested feebly. It was easy to tell that her heart wasn't entirely in it, though.

"I would," Spike commented with a humorless laugh. "This whole summer they've been at it night and day. Never been in trouble as much in their lives, not even when they were small."

"Do you remember how the whole thing started with Santa?" Angel prodded. "Not Rose's part, but theirs. The reason why it was so easy for Lindsey to sucker them in."

"Well they didn't read his mind," Rose said. Then her face paled. "Because they didn't want him to think they were freaks. Oh, my poor babies."

"Sweet, bleeding hell," Spike exploded. "You're telling me that every last bit of the bullshit they've done all this summer is about fitting in?"

"Not quite all of it," a somewhat abashed Alaric admitted from the doorway. "But most of it was."

"You could have tried talking to someone first," Angel put in.

"Who would we have talked to?" Alaric queried. "When you and dad were our age, it was almost literally another world. Mum was never a teenager, and, well..," he trailed off.

Rose was looking ready to start sniffling, and all three males immediately converged on her.

"Hey, mum, it's not your fault." "Rose, they're okay, they're good kids.., mostly." "Don't cry, babe. You should be getting narked about the merry dance they've been leading us."

A loud hiccup came from the hall door, and they all turned to see a very disheveled Ariel, (Rose had not been exaggerating her difficulties in changing her clothes). "A group hug? Why wasn't I invited?"

This produced a tension breaking laugh, and hugs were shared all around.

&&&&&&&

Spike drove a little more recklessly than he usually did when he had one of the kids in the car, pushing his luck with red lights, weaving in and out of traffic, but his daughter's raging nerves seemed to be contagious. When Angel had called, the sound of the phone ringing had caused Ariel to jump, almost literally to the ceiling.

He noticed her gnawing at a fingernail and frowned. She'd never been one to bite her nails, not ever. "Have you eaten anything at all today, baby girl?"

"No," his daughter admitted. Her tummy verified the statement by gurgling.

Spike's frown deepened. "Didn't have any of the red stuff either, did you?"

"This morning I just felt too awful." Ariel grimaced at the memory. For a while she'd thought she was going to die, and she had felt so bad that she hadn't been sure it wouldn't be a good thing. "And later, well, I've just been a little nervous."

That, Spike thought, was the understatement of the season. "Maybe after you've seen that lawyer boy is up and about and quieted your nerves, we'll go out and get you something, ok?"

"I guess," Ariel agreed unenthusiastically. Despite the fact that Angel had called signaling that all was well, she was just not going to be able to grasp the fact until she saw if for herself.

Spike patted her knee. "It'll be all right, sweetheart," he promised. "Has your dad ever lied to you?"

"When we were three and you told us that not eating our vegetables would make us turn into fungus demons?" Ariel reminded him. "And then there was the time..,"

"All right, all right." Spike backed down, looking pained. Fat lot of good it had been trying to lie to his kids anyway. They just picked the truth out of his mind neat as you please. "About anything really important," he amended.

Ariel mulled it over for a moment. "No, daddy, you never have."

"So why don't you try to lighten up a little bit?" Spike coaxed. "And think hungry thoughts. If you're good, maybe I'll take you for ice cream."

The words ice cream rang a bell, and suddenly Ariel's face lit up. "I think I may have a prior commitment where ice cream is concerned, daddy," she replied, to Spike's mystification.

&&&&&

Lindsey, showered and changed was lounging on the sofa trading insults with Angel when Spike and Ariel arrived.

Lindsey barely had time to get to his feet before he was nearly bowled back over by the guided missile that was Ariel.

"Lindsey! You're all right." She gave him a nearly rib-cracking hug. "I was so worried."

"You were?" Lindsey cautiously hugged her back and gave her a quick peck on the forehead, mindful of his audience. "I didn't have a moment's doubt, myself."

"You didn't?" Ariel stood staring at him in amazement, scarcely daring to believe that it really was Lindsey, up and about and talking to her after seeing him dead.

"Of course not," Lindsey replied. "I trust you, princess."

"Happy now, little girl?" Spike inquired. "'Cause even if you aren't hungry, I am." He had visions of a blooming onion dancing in his head.

Lindsey looked at Ariel as though really seeing her for the first time since she came through the door. "You haven't had anything?" His choice of phrasing left the question open as to whether he meant food or blood.

Ariel did no more than shake her head once before Lindsey thrust a mug into her hands.

"Drink up, princess," he urged. "Before it cools off."

"But, Lindsey..," Ariel protested.

"It's okay, honey," Angel reassured her. "That's his third one, and I think he was starting to slow down."

Lindsey smiled at her, but his eyes were serious. "And if you don't drink it, I'm not going to honor that rain check I gave you."

"Rain check?" Angel frowned.

Spike, on the other hand, was grinning. "That rain check wouldn't happen to be for ice cream, would it?"

&&&&&

Alaric had been staring moodily into space since his father and sister had left, and his usually hearty appetite had been a bit off too. Rose was beginning to worry about him when he suddenly brightened.

"Hey, mum, what say we order out for a pizza?" His voice was pleading. Rose's one time favorite food had made rare appearances in the Powers household since the arrival of the twins.

While Rose felt relief at seeing her son more animated than he had been all night, she still felt disposed to protest.

"Darling, it's not really fair to your sister, is it?" Trying to be a fair and impartial mother while having visions of melting cheese and spicy pepperoni.

Her son grinned at her, having taken a quick peek at her thoughts. "Dad and Ariel and Lindsey are all going out to eat," he explained. "And you'd really better say yes, mum, because Uncle Angel is already on his way here with the pizza."

Rose laughed and gave her son a one-armed hug. "Conspiring behind my back again," she complained. Then, she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Did you remember to tell him to ask for extra cheese?"

&&&&&&

Alaric eyed the last piece of pizza speculatively. It seemed a shame to let it sit there all by itself. On the other hand, he felt that if he took one more bite, he was going to have pizza coming out his ears.

Angel looked at him. "You've got to be kidding me," he said disbelievingly. "You've already put almost half a large pizza away all by yourself."

"Darling, why don't you put that last piece in the refrigerator," Rose suggested, softly, but firmly. As he moved toward the kitchen with the near-empty box, she added, even more firmly. "Alaric? Take the pizza out of the box and put it in a plastic bag. Do not put that huge box away with one lone slice of pizza in it."

"Yes, mum," Alaric answered with a sigh. It was obviously a well worn scenario.

Angel laughed out loud. "That almost sounded like a pre-recorded message," he teased.

Rose grinned back. "Now why didn't I think of that? Think of all the wear and tear I could have saved on my vocal chords."

"That's right, pick on the poor, misunderstood teenager." Alaric pretended to whine, re-entering the room with a large mug in hand.

"I understand that you must have a bottomless pit for a stomach," Angel observed, eyeing his godson with a touch of awe.

"Good grief, Alaric," Rose murmured. "On top of all that pizza?"

"Have to have something to wash it down with," Alaric replied, grinning unrepentantly. Then, he moved towards the door. "They're back."

"Good," Rose replied. "Maybe we can start getting things back to normal around here."

Angel looked at her to see if he'd heard right, then just grinned and shrugged. Normal indeed.

&&&&&&

After such an eventful weekend, school seemed mundane now, although the twins had suffered more trepidation on that score than they'd let anyone know.

Ariel just beat the bell to her seat in her computer science class. She hurriedly started flipping open her book to the day's lesson with not even glancing up at her teacher.

"Good morning, class." The voice sounded so familiar that it caused Ariel's head to jerk upward with an almost audible snap. The movement was abrupt enough to catch the teacher's attention.

"Ariel?" He seemed as stupefied with surprise as she was.

"Hi, Oz," Ariel replied with a weak smile.


End file.
